NIH Highlighted Topic: Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research on HIV-Associated Co-occurring Conditions

Highlighted Topic 99 | Lead Office: NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) | Posted July 28, 2026 | Expires July 28, 2028 | Apply through the NIH SBIR parent announcement (PA-27-100) or the NIH STTR parent announcement (PA-27-102).

Executive Summary

NIH has designated HIV-associated co-occurring conditions as a formal Highlighted Topic, and sixteen NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices have attached their own stated interests to it. For a small business, this is one of the most cross-cutting priority signals NIH has published in the HIV space, because it opens the door to funding from cancer, cardiopulmonary, aging, metabolic, mental health, substance use, oral health, musculoskeletal, and integrative health budgets at the same time, all through a single application to the standard SBIR or STTR omnibus.

The science being requested is a shift in framing. Antiretroviral therapy has turned HIV into a manageable chronic condition, and the unsolved problem is no longer viral suppression. It is that people with HIV develop comorbidities earlier, carry more of them at once, experience treatment-related toxicities, and navigate mental health, substance use, and structural barriers that disease-specific care models were never designed to handle. NIH wants to fund work that treats those conditions as an interconnected system rather than a list of separate diseases, and it wants that work to reach patients through care models that actually get implemented.

For companies, the commercially relevant openings are concentrated in a handful of places: multi-condition risk prediction and early screening, point-of-care and decentralized diagnostics for comorbidities and coinfections, digital therapeutics and adherence technologies that address HIV alongside substance use or mental health, biomarkers of accelerated aging and organ injury, drug interaction and polypharmacy decision support, and platforms that let a single clinic deliver integrated care without adding staff.

There is no dedicated pot of money and no separate application form. A Highlighted Topic is a priority signal, not a Notice of Funding Opportunity. You apply through the normal NIH SBIR or STTR omnibus, you compete against every other small business application in that cycle, and NIH states plainly that applying in a Highlighted Topic area will not affect how your application is referred or reviewed. What the topic does give you is unusually specific intelligence about what sixteen ICOs want to buy, plus named program staff to call before you write a word. Two participating Institutes, NHLBI and NIDA, state they may dedicate funds to this topic area, and three, NCCIH, NIDA, and NIDCR, state they may give special consideration to meritorious applications in it.

Under the current SBIR parent announcement, standard budget guidelines run up to $323,090 for Phase I and up to $2,153,927 for Phase II, with several Institutes approved to exceed those caps. The next standard receipt dates are September 5, 2026, January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027, and the topic stays live through July 28, 2028.

One timing change matters more here than almost anywhere else in the NIH portfolio: HHS eliminated dedicated AIDS-specific SBIR and STTR due dates for applications due on or after May 25, 2026. HIV-focused companies that built their calendars around the legacy AIDS cycles need to rebuild them around the standard September, January, and April dates.

A Quick Note on the NIH SBIR and STTR Program

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The NIH, CDC, and FDA SBIR and STTR programs are the largest source of non-dilutive early-stage funding for health, biomedical, and life science technology in the United States. NIH alone sets aside well over a billion dollars a year. Awards are grants, not investments. There is no equity, no repayment, and no board seat.

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The program runs in phases. Phase I funds proof of concept and feasibility. Phase II funds the substantive research and development that turns a validated concept into a product. Fast-Track combines both in a single application, and Direct to Phase II lets companies that have already established feasibility skip Phase I entirely. Phase IIB and the Commercialization Readiness Pilot extend funding for late-stage work such as clinical validation, manufacturing scale-up, and regulatory submissions. Applicants must be for-profit U.S. small businesses with 500 or fewer employees and majority U.S. ownership.

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For the complete breakdown of the NIH SBIR and STTR program, including all budget caps by Institute, clinical trial policies, eligibility mechanics, review criteria, and the full timeline, see our full executive summary here: NIH, CDC and FDA Parent SBIR Grant (PA-27-100).

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Everything below is specific to this Highlighted Topic.

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What Is a Highlighted Topic, and How Is It Different From a Funding Opportunity?

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This distinction trips up nearly every first-time applicant, so it is worth being precise.

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A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is a solicitation. It has an announcement number, its own application package, its own review criteria, and in most cases its own set-aside funding. You apply to it directly.

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A Highlighted Topic is a published statement of scientific priority maintained centrally by NIH. It has no application package. It has no guaranteed funding. You cannot apply to it. Instead, you apply through a broad opportunity such as the SBIR or STTR parent announcement, and the topic tells you what the participating Institutes and Centers currently want to fund inside their existing budgets.

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NIH is explicit about the practical consequences:

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• Apply through an appropriate parent announcement or other broad NIH opportunity.

• Reach out early to the listed scientific contacts to discuss alignment.

• If an ICO chooses to dedicate funding to a topic, the amount depends on available funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing priorities.

• Applying in a Highlighted Topic area will not affect NIH referral or review of your application.

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That last point is the one to internalize. The topic does not give you a scoring advantage. What it gives you is a map. Sixteen ICOs have each written down, in their own words, what they would fund in this space and who to call about it. That intelligence is worth considerably more than a modest scoring bump, because the single most common reason strong small business applications fail at NIH is misalignment with the Institute that ends up holding the application.

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Highlighted Topics replaced the older Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) model for this purpose. If you have applied to NIH before and are looking for a notice number to enter into the Agency Routing Identifier field, there is not one for a Highlighted Topic. The practical approach is to make the alignment explicit in your cover letter and in your Specific Aims, and to confirm handling with the program officer at your target Institute before you submit.

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What Are They Looking For? A Detailed Overview

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The Core Scientific Problem

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NIH frames the problem in terms that any founder in this space will recognize from the clinic.

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Antiretroviral therapy transformed HIV into a manageable chronic condition. But people with HIV still face high risk and early onset of comorbidities, adverse effects from ART itself, and a set of medical, psychosocial, and structural challenges that are tangled together rather than separable. The burden extends beyond people living with HIV: NIH specifically calls out HIV-exposed but uninfected children, who may carry elevated risks of immune, metabolic, and developmental problems compared with unexposed peers, particularly in low and middle-income settings.

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The stated knowledge gaps are where the fundable work lives:

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Mechanistic gaps. How do HIV, ART, and psychosocial stressors interact to drive the early onset and progression of comorbidities? This is the question underneath accelerated aging, chronic inflammation, and immune activation.

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Shared-pathway gaps. Many comorbidities intersect and share risk factors before diverging into disease-specific trajectories. NIH gives two examples directly: metabolic syndrome raising risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease at once; and certain coinfections raising cancer risk. The implication is a real product thesis. If you can identify or intervene on a shared upstream factor, you address multiple outcomes with one technology, and that is a much stronger commercial story than a single-indication tool.

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Model gaps. Traditional disease-specific models do not capture shared factors, and they do not capture the multilevel determinants that decide whether an intervention actually gets implemented in a real health system.

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Care delivery gaps. NIH wants whole-person care that links infectious diseases, endocrinology, psychiatry, nursing, pharmacy, and community health, with emphasis on early screening, lifestyle-based prevention, and sustained engagement in HIV care, all while accounting for local context and health system constraints.

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The Stated Purpose

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The topic aims to catalyze interdisciplinary research on HIV-associated co-occurring conditions and to expand multidisciplinary teams that can develop and deliver preventive strategies improving health and quality of life across the lifespan. Three emphases are named:

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1. Shared factors and multi-organ effects, to inform early preventive strategies.

2. Implementation science approaches to identify barriers and facilitators, optimize multidisciplinary care, and deliver scalable, sustainable care models.

3. Multidisciplinary teams with multiple Program Directors and Principal Investigators holding complementary expertise, cross-NIH alignment, and use of existing NIH resources.

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Meaningful community engagement is strongly encouraged throughout.

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Alignment With the Make America Healthy Again Initiative

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This topic is being issued as part of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, and NIH lists the specific MAHA workstreams it aligns with. This matters strategically, because it tells you which vocabulary and which framings currently carry institutional weight. The named alignments include:

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• The NIH MAHA Chronic Disease Initiative, which aligns existing NIH chronic disease research and aims to generate actionable results for diseases arising in childhood and adulthood.

• The Whole-Person-Health approach to chronic disease prevention, including metabolic health at all stages of life.

• Prescribing patterns and impact on mental health, including evaluation of prescription patterns and overprescription trends.

• Food for Health, studying food and lifestyle interventions and their effect on outcomes and cost.

• Nutrition, including dietary patterns that support metabolic health and precision nutrition.

• The oral health and systemic disease connection, including oral microbiome relationships with gut health and immune function.

• The Gut Microbiome Research Initiative, on the microbiome's role in chronic disease development and progression.

• Longitudinal research for chronic disease prevention, leveraging existing NIH cohorts including All of Us, ABCD, HBCD, and ECHO.

• Clinical trial networks, strengthening existing networks through engagement with large public and private hospital systems including the VA.

• Mental health and addiction research, with focus areas including screen time in children and adolescents.

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If your technology touches metabolic health, nutrition, the microbiome, polypharmacy, or prevention, there is language here you should be borrowing.

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Participating Institutes, Centers, and Offices, and What Each One Wants

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This is the section to read closely. Your application will be assigned to one Institute, that Institute's budget will pay for it, and that Institute's priorities will determine whether it gets funded after review. Below is what each participating ICO has stated for this topic.

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Office of AIDS Research (OAR), lead office. OAR is interested in facilitating interdisciplinary research, including implementation science, to advance understanding of the common factors underlying HIV-associated co-occurring conditions, supporting early prevention, integrated whole-person care, and improved health and quality of life across the lifespan. OAR does not award grants. Your application must be relevant to at least one participating Institute or Center that does. OAR is the central scientific contact for the topic overall, and Geetanjali Bansal, PhD, is the ICO scientific contact.

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National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI wants to advance understanding of the risks, development, progression, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer in people with HIV, and to test and implement bundled cancer and HIV interventions. NCI notes that people with HIV have increased incidence of certain cancers, are diagnosed at earlier ages and higher stages, have worse overall and cancer-specific survival, and are less likely to receive cancer treatment. Named example topics: characterizing how HIV infection contributes to the development and pathogenesis of HIV-related tumors; discovering and developing new biomarkers, diagnostics, and therapeutics to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes; and identifying factors that drive cancer disparities for people with HIV, including work to improve adoption, implementation, and sustainment of effective interventions. Contact: Rebecca Liddell Huppi, PhD.

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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). NHLBI is interested in mechanisms and pathways behind HIV-associated heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) comorbidities, and in interventions that improve care, including implementation research. Stated priorities: combined effects of aging, HIV, and ART on HLBS conditions; aging- and HIV-related changes in hematopoiesis, including hematopoietic stem cells and their niche; the impact of sleep deficiency and sleep-disordered breathing on HIV-associated cardiopulmonary and cardiometabolic disease; vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia; implementation strategies that improve uptake and sustainability of evidence-based HLBS interventions; mechanistic studies to reduce the effects of HIV and aging on HLBS comorbidities, including traditional risk factors and sex differences; and novel methods to detect subclinical HIV-related HLBS conditions plus strategies to mitigate clinical disease. NHLBI states it may dedicate available funds to applications in this topic area, subject to funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing priorities.

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National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA supports projects addressing HIV-associated co-occurring conditions in midlife and older age, spanning the NIH Stage Model from basic science (Stage 0) through intervention development and refinement (Stage 1) to implementation (Stage V). Areas of interest: the etiologies and pathogenesis of these conditions, including the roles of chronic immune activation and antiretroviral and other drug toxic effects; optimizing medications, care coordination, and behavioral and social interventions to improve outcomes, function, and quality of life; and developing, testing, implementing, and scaling evidence-based interventions that address poor outcomes. Contact: Marcel E. Salive, MD, MPH.

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National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA seeks interdisciplinary research on how drug use, addiction, and HIV interact across the lifespan. Named examples: how HIV, ART, and polysubstance use affect brain function, behavior, mood, sleep, pain, and cognition; molecular, neurochemical, cellular, and circuit functions underpinning HIV and co-occurring substance use disorders; shared pathways linking substance use, HIV, stress, trauma, and mental health conditions; individual and community factors affecting HIV prevention, care engagement, and ART adherence, with focus on improving access in underserved populations; integrated interventions addressing HIV, SUD, HCV, and co-occurring mental health conditions; and basic, clinical, and translational research on treatment of SUD and overdose in people with HIV. NIDA states it may dedicate available funds to this topic area and may give special consideration to meritorious applications in it.

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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). NIMH is interested in interdisciplinary biological and behavioral approaches to the neuropsychiatric mechanisms behind central nervous system comorbidities in people with HIV across the lifespan; how HIV biology, treatment exposures, and psychosocial burden converge on shared pathways driving neurocognitive and mental health disorders, in order to inform early intervention and scalable whole-person care models; and multidisciplinary implementation research identifying barriers to neurocognitive and mental health diagnosis and treatment in people with HIV, with emphasis on community engagement and sustainable care delivery. Contacts: Vasudev Rao, MBBS, MS, and Teri Senn, PhD. Note that NIMH's standing small business program already names technologies addressing basic, behavioral, and implementation science related to people living with HIV as an interest area, which makes it an unusually natural home for an SBIR application under this topic.

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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). NIAID is interested in coinfections affecting people with HIV across the lifespan, from infant through adult, and encourages multidisciplinary applications addressing the impact of stigma and other intersecting behavioral, biological, and health system factors on diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The named coinfections are tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections. Contact: Robin E. Huebner, PhD, MPH.

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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). NIDDK supports basic, clinical, and implementation science examining the impact of HIV on organs, tissues, and biological systems, including person-oriented comorbidity research. Priorities include enteropathy and gastrointestinal homeostasis; liver diseases and viral hepatitis coinfections; digestive diseases, nutrition, obesity, diabetes, and related complications; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases that may present differently or follow altered clinical courses in the context of HIV. On the clinical side, NIDDK wants work that improves implementation and delivery of evidence-based care and develops strategies to improve HIV diagnosis and progression. Studies addressing social, behavioral, and environmental factors influencing HIV and comorbidities in diabetes, digestive, and kidney disease are named as high priority, particularly regarding disease severity and treatment adherence. Contacts: Deepak Nihalani, Khoa Nguyen, and Minnjuan Flournoy Floyd.

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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). NIAAA notes that heavy alcohol use, including alcohol use disorder, interacts with both behavioral risk and organ pathophysiology in people living with HIV, accelerating physiological and physical vulnerability, affecting medication adherence and toxicities, and complicating care. Research should improve understanding of the pathophysiology of alcohol-associated comorbidities; develop biomedical and behavioral approaches to restore alcohol-induced organ dysfunction; and implement interventions addressing alcohol and associated mental health, substance use, comorbidities, coinfections, and complications in vulnerable populations. Named complications include cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, neurocognitive impairment, and cellular and immune dysfunction. Contact: Kendall Bryant, PhD.

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National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). NCCIH supports research on complementary and integrative health approaches for symptom management in people living with HIV, framing HIV as a chronic multisystem condition with complex symptoms including pain, fatigue, and neurocognitive and mental health challenges that suit a Whole Person Health approach. Priorities: testing complementary and integrative interventions such as mind-body approaches and natural products to address symptom clusters and improve function and quality of life; elucidating biological, behavioral, and psychosocial mechanisms including inflammation, neuroimmune, and stress pathways, and identifying biomarkers and patient characteristics; integrating these approaches into HIV care through pragmatic and hybrid effectiveness-implementation studies and scalable delivery models; and evaluating risks such as drug and herb interactions, synthesizing evidence, and developing guidance for informed decision-making. NCCIH states it may give special consideration to meritorious applications in this topic area. Contact: Lanay Mudd, PhD.

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National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). NIDCR supports interdisciplinary research on shared risk factors influencing the onset and progression of HIV-associated comorbidities in the oral and craniofacial complex across the lifespan. Areas of interest: mechanisms of HIV-related oral disease, including immune dysregulation, inflammation, and ART effects; biological, behavioral, and contextual risk factors linking oral and systemic comorbidities and coinfections, including HPV-associated cancer and metabolic and inflammatory diseases; interdisciplinary preventive, diagnostic, and treatment approaches, including probiotics, mucosal immunity modifiers, early cancer detection, and management of oral and salivary gland complications; and integration of oral health into the multidisciplinary HIV care continuum. NIDCR states it may give special consideration to meritorious applications in this topic area. Contact: NIDCR Division of Extramural Research.

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National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). NIAMS seeks research on HIV-associated comorbidities affecting the musculoskeletal system, skin, and systemic rheumatic diseases, and encourages studies of how HIV infection, ART, and host or viral factors contribute to early onset, acceleration, or worsening of NIAMS-relevant comorbidities. Named conditions include musculoskeletal pain; muscle diseases such as sarcopenia and cachexia; cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis; osteoporosis, osteopenia, and fractures; arthritis and other rheumatic diseases; and dermatologic manifestations. NIAMS supports basic, translational, and clinical research characterizing the burden, trajectory, and risk of these conditions across the lifespan, and states that priority is given to implementation science projects that develop, test, and scale multidisciplinary whole-person care models integrating musculoskeletal, rheumatic, and skin health into HIV prevention and treatment settings. Contact: Heiyoung Park, PhD. Important operational note for small businesses: NIAMS does not accept clinical trial applications under the SBIR parent announcement.

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Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). NICHD is listed as a participating ICO with a scientific contact, Sonia Lee, PhD, but has not published a topic-specific scope statement. Given the topic's explicit attention to HIV-exposed uninfected children and to outcomes across the lifespan, pediatric, maternal, and developmental angles are clearly in play, but this is an Institute where a pre-submission conversation is not optional.

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Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). Participating, with Cathy Maulsby, PhD, as contact. OBSSR does not award grants.

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Office of Disease Prevention (ODP). ODP is particularly interested in innovative prevention research using rigorous study design, measurement, and analysis methods to test interventions, implementation strategies, and multidisciplinary care approaches that prevent co-occurring conditions in people with HIV across the lifespan. ODP does not award grants. Contact: JoyAnn Courtney, PhD.

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Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH). ORWH is interested in research projects addressing HIV-associated co-occurring conditions in women. ORWH does not award grants. Contact: Balkissa Ouattara, MD, PhD, MPH.

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Tribal Health Research Office (THRO). Participating, with Sheila Caldwell, PhD, and Christopher Barnhart, PhD, as contacts. THRO does not award grants.

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Email addresses for every contact are published on the NIH topic page. Note carefully that five of the sixteen participating ICOs are offices that cannot fund anything. Your application still has to land on the mission of an Institute or Center that writes checks.

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Where Does a Small Business Actually Fit?

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This is the honest part, and it is the question a founder should ask before spending 150 hours on an application.

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A large share of what this topic describes is classic investigator-initiated academic research: mechanistic biology, cohort analyses, implementation science trials in health systems. Much of that is better suited to an R01 than to an SBIR. NIH SBIR and STTR awards fund research and development toward a commercially viable product or service. If the deliverable at the end of your project is a paper and a set of findings rather than something a customer buys, an SBIR reviewer will say so.

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The good news is that this topic contains an unusual density of genuine product opportunities, because "shared factors, multi-organ effects, early screening, and scalable care models" is a description of things that get built and sold. The strongest small business fits:

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Multi-condition risk prediction and early screening. The topic's central scientific bet is that shared upstream factors drive several downstream comorbidities. A validated tool that stratifies risk across cardiometabolic, renal, hepatic, neurocognitive, and oncologic outcomes at once maps directly onto NHLBI, NIDDK, NIA, and NCI interests simultaneously, and onto the MAHA prevention framing.

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Point-of-care and decentralized diagnostics. Coinfection detection for TB, viral hepatitis, and STIs sits squarely in NIAID's stated scope. Oral and salivary diagnostics sit in NIDCR's. Detection of subclinical HLBS disease is a named NHLBI priority.

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Biomarkers of accelerated aging, immune activation, and organ injury. NIA names chronic immune activation and drug toxic effects explicitly. NHLBI names hematopoietic changes. NCCIH names inflammation, neuroimmune, and stress mechanisms plus biomarker identification.

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Digital therapeutics and integrated behavioral health. NIDA's interest in integrated interventions addressing HIV, SUD, HCV, and co-occurring mental health conditions is one of the clearest commercial openings in the entire topic, and NIDA is one of the two Institutes signaling possible dedicated funds. NIMH's interest in scalable whole-person care models points the same direction.

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Adherence, polypharmacy, and interaction safety. ART adherence is named by NIDA. Medication optimization is named by NIA. Drug and herb interaction risk is named by NCCIH. Prescribing patterns are a named MAHA workstream. Clinical decision support that manages ART alongside comorbidity medications and supplements has an unusually broad set of sponsors.

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Care coordination and integration platforms. Nearly every ICO in the topic asks for something that in practice requires software: integrating oral health into the HIV care continuum, integrating musculoskeletal and skin health, bundling cancer and HIV interventions, coordinating care across infectious disease, endocrinology, psychiatry, pharmacy, and community health. Note that NIAMS explicitly prioritizes implementation science for exactly this, which is rare.

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Biosensors and wearables. NIAAA's standing small business priorities already include transdermal and wearable alcohol monitoring, which lands directly on this topic's alcohol and organ dysfunction thread.

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Therapeutics. Treatments targeting shared inflammatory or metabolic pathways, or targeting a specific comorbidity in the HIV context, fit multiple Institutes. This is the longest and most capital-intensive path, and Fast-Track or Direct to Phase II with a clear regulatory strategy is usually the right structure.

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One structural constraint to plan around. The topic repeatedly references low and middle-income settings and global context. The SBIR parent announcement does not permit foreign subawards or subcontracts, and applications involving them will not be considered for funding. If your work is genuinely LMIC-facing, the research plan has to be structured so that the funded work happens domestically, with international relevance argued rather than internationally performed. This is a common and avoidable reason HIV-focused SBIR applications get administratively withdrawn.

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STTR is worth a hard look here. This topic asks for multidisciplinary teams with complementary expertise and meaningful community engagement, which is exactly what the STTR mechanism is built for. Under STTR, a formal collaboration with a university or nonprofit research institution is required, and the Principal Investigator may be primarily employed by either the company or the research partner. For a company that needs an academic HIV clinician, an implementation scientist, or a community-engaged research partner in order to be credible, STTR (PA-27-102) is often the stronger vehicle than SBIR.

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How Much Funding Would I Receive?

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There is no funding amount attached to the Highlighted Topic itself. Budgets are set by the parent announcement you apply through and by the Institute that funds you.

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Under the current NIH SBIR and STTR parent announcements, standard guidelines provide:

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• Phase I: up to $323,090, typically over one to two years

• Phase II: up to $2,153,927, typically over two to three years

• Fast-Track: combines Phase I and Phase II in one application and one review

• Direct to Phase II: available under SBIR for companies that have already established feasibility

• Phase IIB (PA-27-101): follow-on funding beyond Phase II, with budgets that can run substantially larger

• Commercialization Readiness Pilot: late-stage, milestone-driven support, up to the SBA statutory maximum of $4,191,495 at NCI, with amounts varying by Institute

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Several Institutes participating in this topic hold approval to exceed the standard caps. NIA allows up to $700,000 for Phase I and $3 million for Phase II on Alzheimer's disease and AD-related dementias, and up to $500,000 and $2.5 million for other projects in its mission space, which is directly relevant given the topic's inclusion of neurocognitive comorbidity and vascular contributions to dementia. NIGMS allows Phase IIB budgets up to $3 million, or $4 million for Strategic Breakthrough awards involving clinical trials. NCI supports CRP projects up to the statutory maximum plus up to $500,000 for technical assistance.

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Cost sharing is not required. Phase I generally requires at least 67 percent of the research effort to be performed by the small business; Phase II generally requires at least 50 percent.

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Full Institute-by-Institute budget detail is in our NIH SBIR program executive summary.

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What Could I Use the Funding For?

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Funds support research and development toward a commercially viable product or service aligned with the mission of a participating Institute or Center. Allowable costs include personnel, materials, prototype fabrication, assay development, validation studies, testing, intellectual property protection, and other direct R&D expenses.

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Phase II, Phase IIB, and CRP funds may additionally cover scale-up, clinical validation, regulatory preparation including IND and IDE-enabling studies, and commercialization activities.

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Whether you can run a clinical trial depends entirely on which Institute funds you. Most ICOs with a direct clinical mission accept clinical trials, including NCI, NHLBI, NIA, NICHD, NIDA, NIMH, and NIDDK, all of which participate in this topic. NIAMS and NIDCR, which also participate in this topic, do not accept clinical trials under the SBIR parent announcement. If your project involves human subjects, confirm your target Institute's specific policy before you build the research plan around it.

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What Is the Timeline?

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Highlighted Topic dates

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• Posted: July 28, 2026

• Expires: July 28, 2028

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SBIR and STTR standard receipt dates (PA-27-100 and PA-27-102)

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• September 5, 2026. This falls on a Saturday, and Labor Day is Monday, September 7, so submissions are accepted through Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

• January 5, 2027

• April 5, 2027

• The same September, January, and April cycle continues into 2027 and 2028 while the topic remains active. September 5, 2027 falls on a Sunday ahead of Labor Day, so that cycle effectively closes Tuesday, September 7, 2027.

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All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.

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Review and award timeline for the September 2026 cycle

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• Scientific merit review: November 2026

• Advisory council review: January 2027

• Earliest project start date: April 2027

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Review and award timeline for the January 2027 cycle

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• Scientific merit review: March 2027

• Advisory council review: May 2027

• Earliest project start date: July 2027

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Review and award timeline for the April 2027 cycle

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• Scientific merit review: July 2027

• Advisory council review: August 2027

• Earliest project start date: December 2027

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Two timing changes that specifically affect HIV-focused applicants

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First, HHS eliminated dedicated AIDS and AIDS-related SBIR and STTR due dates for applications due on or after May 25, 2026. HIV-focused companies previously had access to a separate offset schedule that routed applications into AIDS-specific review. That is gone. You now compete on the standard small business calendar, which makes Institute alignment and cycle selection more consequential than before.

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Second, NIH tightened its late application policy under NOT-OD-26-064, effective for due dates on or after May 25, 2026. Small business applications no longer receive the discretionary late submission window. Plan to submit early enough to resolve eRA Commons validation errors before the deadline, not after it.

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Practical planning guidance. Budget at least twelve weeks of lead time before your target due date, and more if your federal registrations are not already complete. SAM.gov, UEI, SBA Company Registry, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov registrations can take four to six weeks on their own and must be finished before you can submit anything. For a first-time applicant, expect 120 to 200 hours of total effort on a competitive submission.

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Who Is Eligible to Apply?

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Eligibility comes from the parent announcement, not from the topic. Applicants must be U.S. small business concerns that are:

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• Organized for profit with a place of business located in the United States

• At or below 500 employees, including affiliates

• More than 50 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, by qualifying U.S. entities, or by a combination

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For STTR, the company must also have a formal collaboration with a U.S. research institution, with at least 40 percent of the work performed by the small business and at least 30 percent by the research institution.

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Foreign organizations are not eligible, and foreign subawards and subcontracts are not permitted.

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Are There Restrictions I Should Know About?

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• Only U.S. small business concerns are eligible; foreign organizations are not.

• Applications involving foreign subawards or subcontracts will not be considered for funding. This is the single most important constraint to plan around given the topic's global framing.

• Your application must be relevant to at least one participating Institute or Center that awards grants. Five of the participating offices in this topic, OAR, OBSSR, ODP, ORWH, and THRO, do not.

• Clinical trials are not accepted by every Institute. Among the ICOs in this topic, NIAMS and NIDCR do not accept them under the SBIR parent announcement.

• Duplicate or highly overlapping applications submitted under multiple HHS announcements are not permitted.

• Companies must satisfy applicable SBA performance benchmark requirements, including the Phase I to Phase II transition rate benchmark and the Phase II commercialization rate benchmark for companies with substantial award histories.

• Additional national security, foreign relationship, and foreign ownership disclosure requirements apply and may result in denial of award. The 2026 reauthorization tightened foreign risk management and due diligence review, and this screening now sits inside the review critical path rather than beside it.

• Cost sharing is not required.

• Applying under a Highlighted Topic does not change referral or review, and does not guarantee that any funds have been set aside.

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What Kind of Application Is Likely to Win Here?

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NIH reviews small business applications on Significance, Investigators, Innovation, Approach, and Environment, with commercialization potential specifically evaluated for Phase II and Fast-Track. Within this topic, four things separate the competitive applications from the rest.

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One: you picked the right Institute, and you picked it before you started writing. Sixteen ICOs participating means sixteen possible framings of the same technology, and the framing determines which study section reviews you and which budget pays for you. A cardiometabolic risk tool assigned to NHLBI is a different application than the same tool assigned to NIDDK. Email the named contact, describe the technology in a paragraph, and ask directly whether it fits and which mechanism they would suggest. That conversation is free and it is the highest-return hour you will spend.

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Two: you actually addressed shared factors, not one disease. The intellectual center of this topic is that comorbidities in people with HIV intersect and share upstream drivers. An application that addresses a single condition in people with HIV is responsive to that Institute's general mission but not distinctively responsive to this topic. An application that shows how one intervention affects multiple outcomes through a shared mechanism is.

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Three: you took implementation seriously. NIH says outright that traditional disease-specific models insufficiently capture multilevel implementation determinants, and NIAMS goes further by prioritizing implementation science outright. For a company, this translates into concrete asks: who delivers this, in what clinic, paid for by whom, fitting into what workflow, sustained how after the grant ends. Applications that treat adoption as somebody else's problem read as naive here.

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Four: your team is genuinely multidisciplinary, and your community engagement is real. Multiple Program Directors and Principal Investigators with complementary expertise are strongly encouraged. Meaningful community engagement is strongly encouraged. Reviewers in this space are well practiced at spotting a letter of support from a community organization that has no role in the actual research plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a Notice of Funding Opportunity I can apply to directly?

No. This is an NIH Highlighted Topic, which is a published statement of scientific priority rather than a solicitation. There is no application package and no separate deadline. You apply through a broad NIH funding opportunity, and for small businesses that means the SBIR parent announcement PA-27-100 or the STTR parent announcement PA-27-102.

How much funding is available under this Highlighted Topic?

The topic itself carries no funding amount. Your budget is governed by the parent announcement you apply through: under standard guidelines, up to $323,090 for SBIR Phase I and up to $2,153,927 for Phase II, with several Institutes approved to exceed those caps. NHLBI and NIDA both state they may dedicate available funds to this topic area, subject to available funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing priorities.

Does applying under this Highlighted Topic improve my chances?

Not in review. NIH states that applying in a Highlighted Topic area will not affect referral or review of applications. Three participating ICOs, NCCIH, NIDA, and NIDCR, state they may give special consideration to meritorious applications in this topic area, and two, NHLBI and NIDA, state they may dedicate funds. The real advantage is informational: sixteen ICOs have documented what they want and named the staff to call about it.

What are the deadlines?

The topic is open from July 28, 2026 through July 28, 2028. SBIR and STTR standard receipt dates are September 5, 2026, January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027, with the cycle continuing while the topic remains active. Because September 5, 2026 falls on a Saturday before Labor Day, that cycle accepts submissions through Tuesday, September 8, 2026. All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.

Are there separate AIDS-specific due dates for HIV-related SBIR applications?

Not anymore. HHS eliminated dedicated AIDS and AIDS-related SBIR and STTR due dates for applications due on or after May 25, 2026. HIV-focused companies now submit on the standard small business schedule and compete within it.

Which NIH Institutes participate in this topic?

Sixteen ICOs: the Office of AIDS Research as lead, plus NCCIH, NCI, NHLBI, NIA, NIAAA, NIAID, NIAMS, NICHD, NIDA, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIMH, OBSSR, ODP, ORWH, and THRO. Five of those, OAR, OBSSR, ODP, ORWH, and THRO, are offices that do not award grants, so your application must also be relevant to a participating Institute or Center that does.

Who is eligible to apply?

For-profit U.S. small business concerns with 500 or fewer employees including affiliates, more than 50 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents or by qualifying U.S. entities. Foreign organizations are not eligible, and foreign subawards and subcontracts are not permitted.

My work focuses on low and middle-income settings, which the topic specifically mentions. Can SBIR fund that?

Only with careful structuring. The topic references low and middle-income settings and HIV-exposed uninfected children in those settings, but the SBIR parent announcement prohibits foreign subawards and subcontracts. The funded research has to be performed domestically. Global relevance can be argued in the significance and commercialization sections; it cannot be delivered through an international subaward under this mechanism.

Can I run a clinical trial with this funding?

It depends on the Institute. Most participating ICOs with a direct clinical mission accept clinical trials, including NCI, NHLBI, NIA, NICHD, NIDA, NIMH, and NIDDK. NIAMS and NIDCR, both participating in this topic, do not accept clinical trials under the SBIR parent announcement. Confirm your target Institute's policy before designing the project.

Should I apply for SBIR or STTR?

SBIR if your company performs the majority of the research and your Principal Investigator is primarily employed by the company. STTR if the project depends on a formal collaboration with a university or nonprofit research institution. Given that this topic explicitly asks for multidisciplinary teams and community engagement, STTR is often the better structural fit, and STTR allows the Principal Investigator to be primarily employed by either the company or the research partner.

Where do I reference the Highlighted Topic in my application?

Unlike a Notice of Special Interest, a Highlighted Topic has no notice number to enter in the Agency Routing Identifier field. Make the alignment explicit in your cover letter and in your Specific Aims, and confirm handling with the program officer at your target Institute before you submit.

What does NIH mean by "shared factors" and why does it matter commercially?

NIH's point is that many comorbidities in people with HIV intersect and share risk factors before diverging into disease-specific trajectories, using metabolic syndrome raising diabetes, cardiovascular, and kidney disease risk as one example and coinfection-driven cancer risk as another. Commercially this is favorable, because a technology addressing an upstream shared factor has a larger addressable market and a stronger clinical value proposition than a single-indication tool, and it can be framed to fit several Institutes at once.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

For a first-time applicant, expect 120 to 200 hours in total. Start at least twelve weeks before your target due date. Federal registrations across SAM.gov, UEI, SBA Company Registry, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov can take four to six weeks on their own and must be complete before submission.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

Nothing good. NIH tightened its late application policy for due dates on or after May 25, 2026, and small business applications no longer receive the discretionary late submission window. Build in time to fix validation errors before the deadline rather than after it.

Is this topic connected to a broader federal initiative?

Yes. NIH issued it as part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, and the topic page names the specific MAHA workstreams it aligns with, including the NIH Chronic Disease Initiative, the Whole-Person-Health approach, prescribing patterns and mental health, Food for Health, nutrition and metabolic health, the oral health and systemic disease connection, the Gut Microbiome Research Initiative, longitudinal cohort research, clinical trial networks, and mental health and addiction research. Framing your significance section in that vocabulary is a low-cost, high-signal move.

How Can BW&CO Help?

BW&CO is a non-dilutive federal funding advisory firm. We have helped clients secure more than $350 million in federal funding, and we specialize in exactly the problem this topic creates: a broad scientific priority with sixteen possible sponsors, no dedicated money, and no obvious front door.

We can:

• Identify the right Institute and the right mechanism for your technology, Phase I, Phase II, Fast-Track, Direct to Phase II, Phase IIB, or CRP, and position you with the program officer who controls that budget.

• Triple your likelihood of success through proven strategy and insider-aligned proposal development.

• Reduce your time spent on the proposal by 50 to 80 percent, so your team stays focused on the technology and the company.

• Structure the research plan so that foreign collaboration, clinical trial sequencing, and registration timelines do not sink an otherwise fundable application.

USSOCOM sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment: The Complete Guide for Ground Robotics Companies

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer: What Is the sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment?

The sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment is an open Call on the Vulcan platform seeking commercially available small-to-medium Uncrewed Ground Systems (UGS) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) that can contribute to the U.S. Special Operations Command small Uncrewed Multi-Domain Systems (sUMS) Ground Capability Portfolio. The Call opened 16 August 2026 and closes 01 October 2026 at 22:59 CDT. Companies respond by submitting a Scout Card through Vulcan, then completing a structured self-assessment of their system against a small tactical robotic ecosystem architecture. The engagement objective is market research, which means no funding is awarded directly from this Call. Selection can lead to a demonstration invitation and downstream consideration for prototype agreements, Other Transaction Agreements, SBIR or STTR topics, CRADAs, or FAR-based procurement.

The central question the Government is asking is direct: which small-to-medium UGS can solve the identified mission-thread Key Technical Problem and provide a viable capability for the sUMS Ground Capability Portfolio?

If your company builds throwable robots, packable or man-packable UGVs, quadrupeds, tracked or wheeled tactical UGVs, or purpose-built robotic platforms with manipulators, this is the single most important open door into the SOF ground robotics portfolio in fiscal year 2026.

At a Glance

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Call name: sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment

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Sponsor: U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), small Uncrewed Multi-Domain Systems (sUMS) Ground Capability Portfolio, aligned to the Program Executive Office for Tactical Information Systems (PEO-TIS) Remote Capabilities program office

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Platform: Vulcan, at vulcan-sof.com, the SOF enterprise technology scouting platform and the front end for Engage SOF (eSOF)

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Engagement objective: Market research

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Open date: 16 August 2026, 23:00 CDT

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Deadline: 01 October 2026, 22:59 CDT

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Submission vehicle: Scout Card, plus a structured self-assessment and supporting evidence

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Funding attached to this Call: None published. This is a market research and assessment engagement, not a solicitation with an award ceiling.

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Classification level: Unclassified only

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Who should respond: Commercial UGS and UGV manufacturers, robotics integrators, autonomy software companies with a hosted platform, payload and manipulator developers with a fielded host vehicle

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What disqualifies you fastest: Submitting a concept, a roadmap, or a future configuration instead of a system you can put on the ground and demonstrate now

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Why This Call Matters More Than a Typical RFI

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USSOCOM validated its ground robotics requirements in March 2026. That validation is the gate that opens formal solicitation activity, and the portfolio lead told industry at SOF Week 2026 that solicitations would flow across the different categories of ground robotic products in the cycle that followed. The Remote Capabilities office also posted a Ground Robotics Element and Team Man Portable Systems capability assessment event on its fiscal year 2026 industry slide. This Call is the market research front end of that activity.

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Two structural facts make the ground portfolio unusual. First, PEO-TIS does not own most of the platforms its sensors ride on, with one stated exception: the ground robotics portfolio, where the office does provide the platform. That makes the ground portfolio a direct platform buyer rather than a payload integrator working through another program office. Second, the office described itself as being in a constant state of market research and running roughly three RFIs per year per system category, moving faster when the operational environment changes. Companies that get into the assessment record now are positioned for the next several cycles, not just this one.

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The buying posture briefed to industry was blunt. The office is looking to field what it selects. In the portfolio lead's framing, if development work is needed, that development work will most likely happen after fielding, usually as software modification or SOF-peculiar adaptation such as marinizing a system for maritime special operations use. The standing guidance to vendors was to bring mature items that are tested, that can be produced and scaled, and that operate in contested environments.

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Translated for a startup: this is a fielding pipeline, not a research program. Maturity beats ambition here.

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The sUMS Ground Capability Portfolio Structure

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The portfolio is organized into categories by size, transportability, and mission role. Understanding which category your system belongs in is the first strategic decision you make, because the Government assesses systems inside a category and against a mission thread, not against the entire robotics market.

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T-0.1, Training and Experimentation. Modular interface and drone docking systems. This category supports modular integration, concepts, and experimentation and does not fit the primary operational portfolio categories. If your product is an interface standard, a docking or launch module, a payload carrier, or a test article that enables integration rather than delivering an operational effect, this is your lane.

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E-0.1, Throwables. Throwable, ruggedized recon and ISR robots. Small spherical or impact-tolerant platforms deployed by hand into a structure, a stairwell, a tunnel, or a vehicle. Assessment attention lands on survivability at impact, self-righting, camera and audio fidelity, and how quickly an operator gets usable video.

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E-0.2, Packable. Compact tracked or wheeled UGVs that fit in a pack. The emphasis is on compactness and rapid deployment without dedicated transport.

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E-0.3, Man-Packable. Crawling and articulated platforms carried by a single operator. Serpentine and segmented designs for confined space, void, tunnel, and rubble access sit here.

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E-1.1, Element-Man-Packable. Quadruped and legged platforms at the element level. Stair climbing, rubble traverse, and payload carriage on legs. This is the fastest-growing commercial segment and the most crowded category in the portfolio, which raises the evidentiary bar rather than lowering it.

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E-1.2, Team-Man-Packable. Team-level, team-packable wheeled or tracked UGVs, typically multi-wheeled platforms carrying mission payloads for a whole team rather than one operator.

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E-2.0, Heavy. Heavy payload, high capacity tracked platforms. Logistics carriage, casualty movement, heavy sensor masts, and breaching or engineering support at scale.

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E-3.0, Dedicated Purpose. Specialized mission platforms with dedicated capability, including manipulator-equipped systems for tasks that a general purpose UGV cannot perform.

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The portfolio banner is scalable, modular, mission ready, and the framing question the Government keeps returning to is the right UGS or UGV for the right mission with the right effect. Your submission is stronger when it names the mission thread it serves and stays in its category, and weaker when it claims to cover four categories at once.

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What the Government Is Actually Looking For

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Available now, not conceptual

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The Call is explicit that vendors should describe the capability actually available for demonstration, not a conceptual or future configuration. This is the single most consequential instruction in the document. A Scout Card that describes a system arriving next year is not a responsive submission, and the assessment structure is designed to surface the difference.

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The complete system, not the chassis

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Responses should clearly identify the system configuration, hardware, software and firmware, payloads, communications, autonomy features, support equipment, and other components included in the proposed capability. Two implications follow. First, the boundaries of what you are offering must be unambiguous, because the Government is assessing a deployable capability rather than a vehicle. Second, everything you omit is read as absent. If the operator control unit, the charging solution, the spares kit, the training materials, and the transit case are part of the capability, list them.

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A structured self-assessment against a defined architecture

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After submission, vendors complete a structured self-assessment based on the small tactical robotic ecosystem architecture developed by Dr. Jon M. Hackett, whose doctoral research addressed small tactical robotics applications and who serves as a program manager in the intelligent robotic autonomous systems space. The assessment characterizes the capability across a defined set of dimensions:

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1. Intended mission

2. Operating environment

3. Human-machine interaction

4. Mobility

5. Power

6. Communications

7. Autonomy

8. Interfaces

9. Supportability

10. Resilience

11. Integration with other systems

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This is not a marketing questionnaire. It is a comparative instrument, and it is the mechanism by which the Government builds an apples-to-apples picture of a fragmented commercial market. Prepare for it before you submit, because your answers become part of the assessment record attached to your Scout Card.

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Practical guidance on the harder dimensions:

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Human-machine interaction. Expect scrutiny on operator workload, one-to-many control, glove and night operation, latency, and whether the operator can reconfigure the system at their own level rather than sending it back to the manufacturer.

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Power. Battery chemistry, standard military battery compatibility, hot swap, charge time, runtime at realistic duty cycles rather than idle, and the logistics footprint required to keep the system running for a multi-day mission.

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Communications. Line of sight and non line of sight performance, mesh and MANET behavior, bandwidth demand, degraded and denied operation, spectrum and waveform details, and behavior on link loss. Contested electromagnetic environments are a stated requirement across the portfolio, not a differentiator.

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Autonomy. Where the autonomy sits, what it does without a link, what degradation looks like, and how it behaves at the edge. USSOCOM has publicly named swarm technology, decentralized control and collective intelligence, and environment-agnostic traversability as capability development areas. Vendor-locked, proprietary vertical autonomy stacks are treated as a liability across the SOF autonomy enterprise.

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Interfaces. This is where deals are won or lost. The command is buying sensors, payloads, radios, and autonomy as interchangeable elements of an architecture, and conformance to published standards is becoming the price of admission. The USSOCOM Modular Payload Standard, managed for the command by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, defines common interfaces and attributes for payloads and hosting platforms, and has expanded from Group 2 UAS to Groups 1 and 3, unmanned surface vessels, and dismounted applications, with a micro variant for smaller systems. The guidance from the command's chief systems engineer for Tactical Information Systems was explicit: adopt common standards, and do not arrive with a proprietary standard that locks the Government out of the interface. Document your mechanical, electrical, and data interfaces. State plainly whether they are open, licensable, or closed.

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Supportability and resilience. Mean time between failure and repair data, field repairability at the operator level, spares and tooling, environmental and ingress protection ratings, temperature range, EMI and EMC test results, transportability, and safety documentation.

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Integration with other systems. Data output formats, message standards, ATAK and common operating picture integration, edge processing, and whether your system can hand off to and receive tasking from other unmanned systems. The stated goal on the sensor side is edge processing with the least amount of data required to make a decision moving forward to the decision point, rather than everything returning to a centralized node.

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Evidence, tiered honestly

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For each material claim, vendors should be prepared to provide supporting evidence: test data, technical documentation, photographs, videos, interface information, safety documentation, or prior demonstration results. The Call requires vendors to clearly distinguish between four claim tiers:

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1. Demonstrated capability

2. Vendor-tested capability

3. Calculated or estimated performance

4. Planned or future capability

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Label every claim to the correct tier. Assessors are reading many submissions in the same category, and the fastest way to lose credibility is to present a calculated figure as a demonstrated one. A submission that is honest about tiers and thin in places reads as trustworthy. A submission that presents everything as demonstrated reads as unverified, and it will be tested at demonstration if you get that far.

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What the Government Will Do With Your Submission

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The Government may use the information and supporting evidence to inform comparative assessment, selection for demonstration, and subsequent marketplace consideration.

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Equally important is what the Call says it does not do. Submission or successful completion of a demonstration does not constitute operational approval, certification, fielding authorization, or a Government commitment to procure the system. Treat a favorable assessment as qualification and visibility inside the SOF enterprise, not as a contract.

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Assessments published in Vulcan become visible to Government users across the SOF and defense enterprise. That is the durable value of a strong submission: a well-evidenced Scout Card with a published Government assessment continues working for you across future Calls, RFIs, and program office searches long after this deadline passes.

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Timeline and Key Dates

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16 August 2026, 23:00 CDT. Call opens on Vulcan. Submissions accepted.

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Now through late September 2026. Build or refresh the Scout Card, assemble the evidence package, resolve export control and data rights questions, and confirm any spectrum authorizations you would need for a live demonstration.

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01 October 2026, 22:59 CDT. Submission deadline. This is a hard cutoff in the platform, and Vulcan has no private or draft state that holds a partial submission past the close.

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Following submission. Vendors complete the structured self-assessment. Expect requests for supporting evidence against material claims.

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After the assessment window. Government comparative assessment and downselection for demonstration. On comparable SOF assessment engagements, published assessments typically reach vendor Scout Cards on the order of twenty business days after an assessment event concludes.

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Downstream. Selection for a demonstration or assessment event, then negotiation of an agreement if the evaluation is favorable.

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Two planning notes. First, the deadline sits one day into fiscal year 2027, which means the assessment and any resulting negotiation activity happens under new-year funding. Second, if your system radiates on any frequency, approval to transmit is required before a demonstration, which may include compliance with FCC Title 47 Part 15 or a Special Temporary Authority. The FCC recommends submitting an STA request 30 to 60 days before an event. Start that clock now rather than after you receive an invitation.

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Funding Allowance: What Money Is and Is Not Attached

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Be clear-eyed here, because this is where companies misread SOF engagements most often.

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This Call carries no published funding ceiling and makes no award. The engagement objective is market research. You are not writing a priced proposal, and there is no dollar figure to size a budget against. What you are buying with your effort is assessment, visibility, and eligibility for the pathways below.

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Where the money actually appears. On SOF assessment engagements, favorably evaluated solutions move into negotiation under one or a combination of the following authorities. This is the standard path forward language used across USSOCOM assessment events run through SOFWERX:

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1. Business to business research and development agreement as a sub-award through the SOFWERX Partnership Intermediary Agreement, under 15 U.S. Code Section 3715

2. Other Transaction Agreement for research or prototype projects, under 10 U.S. Code Sections 4021 and 4022. An award under Section 4022 may result in a follow-on production agreement without additional competition based on successful prototype completion, against prototype criteria determined for each project

3. Procurement for experimental purposes, under 10 U.S. Code Section 4023

4. Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, under 15 U.S. Code Section 3710a

5. Prizes for advanced technology achievements under 10 U.S. Code Section 4025, or prize competitions under 15 U.S. Code Section 3719

6. FAR-based procurement contract

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The Section 4022 prototype-to-production path is the one worth understanding in detail. It is the mechanism by which a successful prototype effort converts into production without recompeting, and it is the reason non-traditional defense companies pursue OTAs rather than waiting for a full and open competition.

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The parallel non-dilutive tracks. A strong showing in this portfolio also sets up funding you pursue on your own initiative rather than waiting to be selected:

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1. USSOCOM SBIR and STTR, including Direct to Phase II, which allows a Phase II award without a prior Phase I when you can document that the feasibility objectives have already been met. For a company with a fielded UGV, Direct to Phase II is frequently the right entry point rather than Phase I

2. Department of War SBIR and STTR release cycles, where SBIR Phase I awards commonly land in the low hundreds of thousands and Phase II awards run into the low millions against the current statutory ceiling, with topic-specific variation

3. The USSOCOM Broad Agency Announcement, a standing mechanism for unsolicited proposals against command interests

4. SOFWERX technical experimentation and assessment events, which run on a white paper submission and review cycle culminating in live assessment with operators in the loop

5. Cross-service and cross-agency opportunities in ground autonomy, including Army and Marine Corps robotics programs and DIU solicitations, where the same evidence package you build for this Call is directly reusable

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Budget the real cost of participation. Submission itself is free. What costs money is being demonstration-ready: shipping and travel to an assessment event, an operator and a maintainer to run the system, spares, a demonstration article you can afford to break, spectrum authorization, and the engineering time to produce interface documentation and test data you may not currently have written down. Companies that win these engagements have that package on the shelf before the Call opens.

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Eligibility and Access Requirements

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Vulcan registration. You need a Vulcan account at vulcan-sof.com, registered with your official organizational email address rather than a personal address. Registration establishes access type as commercial, academic, non-profit, or government, and your organizational affiliation is verified. Set this up first if you do not already have an account, because verification takes time you will not have on 30 September.

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Unclassified only. All submissions must be at the unclassified level. Do not put classified or export-restricted technical detail into a Scout Card. If your differentiator cannot be described unclassified, describe the capability and offer the detail through an appropriate channel.

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U.S. persons and U.S. industry. SOF assessment engagements are routinely restricted to U.S. persons or U.S. industry. Confirm the specific restriction in the Call document before investing.

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Export control. ITAR and export licensing exposure is real for ground robotics with military applications, particularly where foreign nationals are employed on the effort. USSOCOM SBIR practice, for example, requires a firm employing foreign nationals on an ITAR topic to possess an export license to receive an award. Resolve your position before you are asked.

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Cybersecurity. Awardees may need to comply with NIST SP 800-171 for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in non-federal systems. If you are pre-revenue on defense work, understand this as a cost of doing business downstream rather than a surprise during negotiation.

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Business size. There is no small business set-aside on a market research Call of this type. Startups and large primes are assessed on technical merit inside the same category, which is favorable for a mature small company with a real product and unfavorable for a company selling a roadmap.

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How to Submit

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1. Register or log in at vulcan-sof.com using your organizational email address

2. Navigate to Calls in the top menu and open the Call titled sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment

3. Decide whether to submit an existing Scout Card or create a new one. Vulcan lets you tailor elements of a submission to the specific context of each Call without maintaining multiple Scout Cards for the same solution

4. Do not create a duplicate Scout Card for a solution you have already carded. Duplicates will be removed. Tailor the existing card to this Call instead

5. Complete the card with a precise capability description, system boundaries, photographs, video, interface information, applicable tags, technology readiness level, and any Government references

6. Complete the structured self-assessment when prompted

7. Assemble and be ready to provide the supporting evidence package against every material claim

8. Submit before 01 October 2026 at 22:59 CDT. Cards remain editable up to the close, and there is no draft state that survives the deadline

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Questions on the platform itself go to the Vulcan support team at support@vulcan-sof.com.

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The Five Mistakes That Sink Ground Robotics Submissions

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Selling the roadmap. The Call asks for what is available for demonstration. A future configuration described as though it exists fails the assessment and damages credibility for the next Call.

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Category sprawl. Claiming that one platform serves throwable, man-packable, team-packable, and heavy roles at once reads as a company that has not chosen a mission thread. Pick the category where you are strongest and win it.

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Undocumented interfaces. A proprietary interface with no published specification, or an unwillingness to discuss licensing, is now a first-order disqualifier in a portfolio built on modular payload standards.

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Unlabeled claim tiers. Presenting calculated endurance, estimated range, or simulated autonomy performance without labeling it as such is the most common failure mode in structured self-assessments.

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Ignoring supportability. Companies over-invest in mobility demonstration video and under-invest in the mean time between failure data, spares posture, field repair procedures, and safety documentation that determine whether a system can actually be fielded. The office intends to field what it selects, and supportability is what fielding turns on.

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Who Should Respond

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You are a strong fit if you have a fielded or demonstration-ready UGS or UGV in one of the portfolio categories, you can document performance with test data, and you can put an operator and a system in a room in front of an evaluation panel within a few months.

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You are a plausible fit if you build payloads, manipulators, autonomy software, power systems, or comms modules and you can present them integrated on a host platform. Partnering matters here. The command has repeatedly urged vendors to team with one another, because a modular, standards-based architecture rewards integrated, compliant solutions over isolated components.

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You are a poor fit if your system exists as a CAD model, a simulation, or a single hand-built prototype that has never left a controlled environment. Use the time to pursue SBIR, STTR, or BAA funding to reach demonstration maturity, then enter the portfolio at the next assessment cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for the sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment? Submissions close 01 October 2026 at 22:59 CDT. The Call opened 16 August 2026 at 23:00 CDT.

Is there funding attached to this Call? No. The engagement objective is market research, and no funding ceiling is published. Favorably assessed companies may be selected for demonstration and then move into negotiation under a range of authorities including Other Transaction Agreements for prototypes, sub-awards through the SOFWERX Partnership Intermediary Agreement, procurement for experimental purposes, CRADAs, prize authorities, or FAR-based contracts.

How much funding could this eventually lead to? There is no published figure for this Call. Downstream award size depends entirely on the vehicle. Prototype OTAs under 10 U.S. Code Section 4022 can carry follow-on production without recompetition. USSOCOM SBIR Phase II and Direct to Phase II awards typically run into the low millions against the current statutory ceiling. Treat this Call as qualification, and pursue priced funding vehicles in parallel.

What is a Scout Card? A Scout Card is the standard capability submission format on Vulcan. It summarizes and depicts your capability, including a description of what differentiates it, technology readiness level, media, tags, and supporting documentation. Government users across the SOF and defense enterprise can search Scout Cards, and published Government assessments attach to the card.

Can I reuse an existing Scout Card? Yes, and you should. Vulcan allows you to tailor elements of a submission to the specific context of each Call without maintaining multiple cards for the same solution. Do not create a duplicate card for a solution you have already carded, because duplicates will be removed.

What does sUMS stand for? Small Uncrewed Multi-Domain Systems. It is a USSOCOM line of effort covering Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground systems, delivering tactical organic robotic and modular payload solutions to the SOF operator. sUMS-G refers to the ground portion of that portfolio.

Which office runs this? The sUMS portfolio sits under the Remote Capabilities program office within the USSOCOM Program Executive Office for Tactical Information Systems, part of SOF Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Remote Capabilities holds the mandate for unmanned systems across space, air, ground, and maritime domains.

Do I need to be a small business? No. There is no small business set-aside on this Call. Submissions are assessed on technical merit within a capability category.

Can a non-U.S. company respond? SOF assessment engagements are routinely limited to U.S. persons or U.S. industry, and export control rules apply to systems with military application. Confirm the specific restriction in the Call document before investing effort.

Does my system have to be a complete robot, or can I submit a payload? The Call asks for a capability available for demonstration, described as a complete configuration including hardware, software, payloads, communications, autonomy, and support equipment. A payload or software component is best submitted integrated on a host platform, ideally through a teaming arrangement. The command has actively encouraged vendors to partner rather than pitching isolated components.

What is the structured self-assessment based on? It is based on the small tactical robotic ecosystem architecture developed by Dr. Jon M. Hackett. It characterizes your capability across intended mission, operating environment, human-machine interaction, mobility, power, communications, autonomy, interfaces, supportability, resilience, and integration with other systems.

What evidence do I need? Be prepared to substantiate every material claim with test data, technical documentation, photographs, video, interface information, safety documentation, or prior demonstration results. Each claim must be labeled as demonstrated capability, vendor-tested capability, calculated or estimated performance, or planned or future capability.

Does a successful demonstration mean I have been selected or approved? No. Submission or successful completion of a demonstration does not constitute operational approval, certification, fielding authorization, or a commitment to procure. It qualifies you for comparative assessment, demonstration selection, and marketplace consideration.

How mature does my system need to be? Mature enough to demonstrate now. USSOCOM's stated posture is to field what it selects, with SOF-peculiar development, usually software modification or platform adaptation, occurring after fielding rather than before. Systems that are finicky at the tactical edge are not competitive.

Do standards compliance and open interfaces matter? Substantially. The command is building a modular architecture around the USSOCOM Modular Payload Standard, managed for the command by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and it has told industry directly not to arrive with proprietary standards that lock the Government out of the interface. Document your interfaces and be prepared to discuss access.

What if my system transmits on a radio frequency? Any developmental device radiating on a given frequency or band needs prior approval to transmit, which may include FCC Title 47 Part 15 compliance or a Special Temporary Authority. The FCC recommends submitting an STA request 30 to 60 days before an event, so begin that process before you receive a demonstration invitation.

Where do I submit? On the Vulcan platform at vulcan-sof.com, under the Call titled sUMS-G Rapid Capability Assessment. Register with your official organizational email address if you do not have an account.

What happens if I miss the deadline? The Remote Capabilities office described itself as being in a constant state of market research and typically running about three RFIs per year per system category, with additional activity when operational needs shift. A ground robotics assessment event and a small UAS assessment event were both on the fiscal year 2026 and 2027 industry slides. Missing this Call is not fatal, but it delays you by a cycle and cedes the assessment record to competitors in your category.

Get Your Submission Assessed Before the Government Does

The companies that convert SOF assessment engagements into agreements are the ones that walk in with the evidence package already built: labeled claim tiers, documented interfaces, test data behind every number, a clear category, and a named mission thread.

BW&CO helps deep-tech, robotics, autonomy, and dual-use founders position for non-dilutive federal funding and build the technical and strategic packages that agencies act on. Innovation Funding Simplified. More than $350M in funding secured for our clients.

If you are weighing whether your UGS or UGV is ready for the sUMS-G Call, or you want to run a parallel SBIR, STTR, Direct to Phase II, or BAA strategy alongside it, let's talk before the 01 October deadline.

Medical Extraction BAA (MED FCD): Complete Guide for Startups and Small Businesses

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The Medical Extraction Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is an open call from the U.S. Army Medical Future Capability Directorate (MED FCD) for technologies that can retrieve, secure, and move wounded Soldiers out of contested battlefields without exposing rescue personnel to unnecessary risk. It is issued under the broader Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 BAA, submissions are made through the USSOCOM-sponsored Vulcan platform as a Scout Card with a quad chart and white paper, and the call is open on a rolling basis from August 25, 2026 through December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST. One point matters more than any other for planning purposes: MED FCD has stated that it does not currently have the resources or authorization to award or fund contracts under this announcement. This is a visibility, evaluation, and experimentation pathway, not a funded solicitation.

That does not make it low value. It makes it a different kind of asset. Read on for what the Army is actually asking for, how the process works, what it costs you to participate, and how companies convert a MED FCD engagement into real dollars from other parts of the Department.

Quick reference facts

• Opportunity name: Medical Extraction BAA (MED FCD)

• Parent announcement: Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 Broad Agency Announcement

• Sponsoring organization: U.S. Army Medical Capability Future Capability Directorate (MED FCD)

• Higher headquarters: Futures and Concepts Command, U.S. Army Futures Command

• Submission platform: Vulcan (vulcan-sof.com)

• Submission vehicle: Vulcan Scout Card, tailored to this specific Call

• Required attachments: Quad chart and white paper

• Open date: August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT

• Close date: December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST

• Submission window: Rolling and open ended for the full period, no single due date for the initial submission

• Funding available under this BAA: None. MED FCD states it cannot directly award or fund contracts

• Engagement objectives listed by the Government: FAR acquisition, capability demonstration, technology experimentation, market research

• Number of areas of interest: One, focused on medical extraction in contested environments

• Anticipated next steps for strong submissions: Virtual briefing with MED FCD, invitation to a technology experimentation event, and possible requests for a formal white paper, statement of work, and cost proposal

• Award guarantee: None. Progression through evaluation phases does not imply or guarantee a contract

• Data protections cited: Trade Secrets Act, Economic Espionage Act, FOIA Exemption 4, Executive Order 12600

What is the Medical Extraction BAA?

A Broad Agency Announcement is a standing government invitation for ideas rather than a competition for a fixed pot of money against a fixed statement of work. The Medical Extraction BAA is a focused Call inside the Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 BAA, and its purpose is to find technologies and concepts that help tactical medical units at Army Corps level and below clear the battlefield, meaning the evacuation of the wounded, ill, and injured.

MED FCD uses the announcement to build a picture of what industry can actually deliver, to identify candidates worth putting in front of senior military leadership, and to select technologies for operational demonstration and experimentation. The Government has been unusually direct that it will amend or update its technical focus areas during the active period and may issue a separate call for follow-on white papers at any time, so the scope you see today can shift before December.

Who is MED FCD and why does this BAA exist?

MED FCD is the Army organization responsible for developing medical concepts and requirements for the future force. Future Capability Directorates sit under Futures and Concepts Command within Army Futures Command, and they drive functional transformation by shaping concepts, requirements, and experimentation. The medical directorate, previously known as MED CDID, has long been associated with the Army Medical Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio.

The practical implication for a founder is important. MED FCD is a requirements and concepts organization, not a program executive office and not a contracting activity. It does not buy things. It defines what the Army needs, validates that industry can build it, and hands that evidence to the organizations that do buy things. Companies that understand this distinction write far better submissions, because they stop pitching a sale and start offering proof for a requirement.

The problem statement in plain language

Enemy action in a modern fight is expected to break the evacuation chain. Fires, maneuver, electronic warfare, and contested airspace will slow or stop the movement of casualties to a medical treatment facility. Three things happen as a result. Treatment is delayed. Consumption of medical supplies at forward locations goes up because casualties are held longer, which compounds an already strained resupply problem. And the cumulative effect reduces the return to duty rate while increasing preventable deaths.

Urban terrain makes it worse. Routes are blocked by rubble, craters, and debris. Casualties have to be pulled out of collapsed buildings. Medical units may have to interact with civilian medical infrastructure and handle large numbers of injured civilians and enemy prisoners of war alongside their own wounded.

Layered on top of that is the risk to the rescue team. Today, extracting a non-ambulatory casualty from rugged terrain or a compromised urban area usually means putting multiple healthy Soldiers into the same danger that produced the casualty, often on foot, often slowly, often within observation of the adversary. That is the specific gap this BAA is trying to close.

Detailed overview of what MED FCD is looking for

The announcement contains a single area of interest, and every requirement in it is worth reading as a hard filter on your solution.

MED FCD is seeking innovative technological capabilities to facilitate medical extractions in highly contested environments where maintaining a low operational profile is critical. Proposed solutions must be capable of retrieving and securing ambulatory and non-ambulatory casualties who cannot climb or physically assist in their own loading, which reduces the exposure of accompanying rescue personnel. The system must demonstrate high mobility across rugged, unstructured terrain while maintaining rigorous patient stabilization, and the extraction and transport process must inflict no further harm to the casualty.

The five requirements your submission has to answer directly

1. Self loading without casualty participation. The system has to get an unconscious or immobilized 95th percentile Soldier with full kit off the ground or out of a structure and secured, without that Soldier climbing, gripping, rolling, or helping in any way. This is the single most common place where otherwise strong robotics submissions fail. If your concept assumes the casualty can pull themselves onto a platform, it does not meet the requirement as written.

2. Reduced exposure of rescue personnel. The Government is asking for low profile, automated, or semi autonomous capability. Every Soldier your system removes from the point of injury is a measurable benefit, so quantify it. If current practice requires four Soldiers for eight minutes at the casualty location and your system requires one Soldier for ninety seconds, or none at all, say so in exactly those terms.

3. Low operational profile. Signature management is treated as a critical attribute, not a nice to have. Address visual, acoustic, thermal, and electromagnetic signature. Address behavior in GPS denied and communications degraded conditions, because a system that needs a continuous high bandwidth link to a distant operator is not low profile in an electronic warfare environment.

4. High mobility over unstructured terrain. Rubble, craters, stairs, slopes, mud, snow, doorways, breach points, and the interior of a partially collapsed building. State your ground pressure, obstacle and step height, gap crossing, gradeability, speed with a loaded litter, endurance in hours or kilometers, and how the system is transported to the point of employment.

5. Patient stabilization with no further harm. This is a clinical requirement, not an engineering afterthought. Address spinal motion restriction, immobilization, ride quality and vibration and shock transmitted to the casualty, thermal protection, airway position, tourniquet and dressing integrity during movement, hemorrhage control during transfer, and compatibility with standard litters, SKEDs, and monitoring equipment. Evidence from a clinician, biomechanical data, or cadaveric or manikin testing carries real weight here.

Technology areas that fit this area of interest

The Government notes that its categories provide context rather than a comprehensive list, so adjacent concepts are welcome. Solutions that typically map well include:

• Uncrewed ground vehicles configured for casualty extraction and casualty carry

• Robotic or powered litter systems, including self loading litter and transfer mechanisms

• Autonomous or teleoperated casualty evacuation platforms with a medical payload

• Mechanical casualty retrieval devices such as winch, drag, sled, grapple, and conveyor based loading systems

• Exoskeletons and powered assist devices that let one or two Soldiers move a casualty that would normally take four

• Low signature aerial lift and resupply platforms with validated casualty carriage

• Casualty packaging, immobilization, and litter interface systems designed for machine handling

• Subterranean and collapsed structure retrieval systems

• Casualty location, triage, and tagging sensors that feed the extraction decision

• Autonomy stacks for GPS denied navigation, obstacle negotiation, and human machine teaming with a medic in the loop

• En route patient monitoring, telemedicine, and automated care integrated into the extraction platform

• Power, energy, and thermal management that supports realistic mission endurance

• Modular kits that convert existing tactical vehicles or robotic platforms into casualty carriers

Themes worth weaving into your narrative

MED FCD thinks in concepts, doctrine, and requirements, so the language of the Army medical modernization enterprise helps your submission land. Useful framing includes multi domain operations, prolonged casualty care when evacuation is delayed well beyond the traditional golden hour, return to duty rate, preventable death, Soldier load and burden, the DOTMLPF-P implications of fielding your system, joint interoperability, training burden on a combat medic, sustainment and repairability in the field, and transportability inside existing formations.

Be equally clear about what you do not do. A submission that claims to solve the entire casualty evacuation problem reads as unserious. The BAA states plainly that a white paper attempting to address the whole scope of the technology described will most likely be rejected.

Funding allowance

This section deserves careful attention, because it is the part most often misread.

There is no funding attached to this BAA. MED FCD has stated in the announcement that while it is an integral part of finding technology solutions for Army requirements, it does not currently possess the resources or authorization to directly award or fund contracts. Selected participants may later be asked for formal white papers, technical statements of work, and cost proposals, but the announcement is explicit that progression through those technical assessment phases is solely for evaluation purposes and does not guarantee or imply a future contract award.

No dollar ceiling, floor, or period of performance is published. Because the Government has not specified a dollar range, there is no target award size to design toward. When a rough order of magnitude cost is requested in a white paper, it should be a defensible estimate of what your proposed effort actually costs, consistent with the level of work you are proposing, including profit or fee if any. Do not inflate it to look substantial and do not deflate it to look cheap. An unrealistic ROM is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility with an evaluator who has seen hundreds of these.

What the Government does offer instead of money:

• Direct evaluation of your capability by the Army organization that writes medical requirements

• Virtual briefings with MED FCD for high potential candidates

• Invitations to technology experimentation events where your system is exercised against realistic conditions

• Operational demonstrations facilitated by the directorate

• Exposure of your capability to senior military leadership and joint service partners, explicitly for the purpose of maximizing visibility for potential external government funding

• A persistent Scout Card profile in Vulcan, which remains discoverable by government users across the ecosystem beyond this single call

• Government feedback that can materially sharpen your product roadmap and your future proposals

What participation costs you. Budget realistically for internal engineering and clinical time to prepare the quad chart and white paper, executive time for a virtual briefing, and, if you are selected for experimentation, travel, shipping, prototype hardware, spares, and on site technical personnel. Experimentation events are typically an unfunded expense for the vendor. Companies that treat this as an internal research and development investment tend to be satisfied with the outcome. Companies that treat it as a revenue event tend not to be.

How this becomes real money. A validated requirement plus documented government interest is the raw material for funded pursuits elsewhere in the Department. Common pathways for Army medical extraction technology include Army SBIR and STTR topics and the xTech prize competitions, the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium and other other transaction authority consortia, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command broad agency announcements, congressionally directed medical research programs, Defense Health Agency and service SBIR programs, Defense Innovation Unit solicitations, and program office funding once a program of record forms around the requirement. A MED FCD demonstration, a letter of support, or a named government sponsor changes the strength of every one of those applications. If your goal is non dilutive capital, the sequence that works is engagement first, evidence second, funded solicitation third.

Timeline

• August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT: Announcement opens for submissions

• August 25 through December 31, 2026: Rolling submission window. Scout Cards may be submitted at any time during the period

• Any time during the active period: The Government may amend or update technical focus areas, and may issue a separate call for follow on white papers

• Continuous: MED FCD evaluates submitted Scout Cards against the BAA criteria and contacts high potential candidates

• After initial contact: Virtual briefings and technology experimentation coordination, with possible requests for formal white papers, statements of work, and cost proposals

• December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST: Announcement closes unless amended

Recommended working schedule

Because the call is rolling and evaluation is continuous, earlier submissions get more calendar time in front of evaluators and more opportunity to be matched to an experimentation event. A workable internal schedule looks like this:

• Week 1: Confirm fit against the five hard requirements. Decide which single slice of the problem you are addressing. Register or refresh your Vulcan account

• Week 2: Build or update the Scout Card, gather performance data, capture imagery and video of the system operating

• Week 3: Draft the quad chart and white paper. Have a clinician or former medic review the patient stabilization claims

• Week 4: Internal red team review against the area of interest language line by line, then submit

• Ongoing: Prepare a fifteen minute virtual briefing deck in advance so you can respond to interest within days rather than weeks

Do not wait until December. A submission that arrives in the final week has almost no runway for the briefing and experimentation activity that creates the value.

How to submit, step by step

1. Register on Vulcan at vulcan-sof.com. Vulcan is a technology scouting platform sponsored by USSOCOM and used by organizations across the Department of Defense, including this Army medical directorate. Account setup and validation take time, so start here.

2. Build or select a Scout Card. A Scout Card is a persistent, structured profile of a single solution. If your technology is already in Vulcan, select the existing card rather than creating a new one.

3. Do not create duplicates. The Government is explicit that duplicate Scout Cards for the same solution will be removed. Vulcan allows you to tailor elements of a submission to the context of a specific Call without maintaining multiple cards for the same solution.

4. Tailor the submission to this Call. Use the area of interest language. An evaluator should be able to see the mapping between your capability and the five requirements without hunting for it.

5. Attach the quad chart. PowerPoint is preferred. Word and PDF are acceptable as long as the file opens and reads cleanly.

6. Attach the white paper, following the Section A through D format below. Reference the BAA number in the subject or title of the response. Submit as PDF or Microsoft Word.

7. Submit before the deadline and be ready to respond quickly if MED FCD reaches out. Contact information for the contracting officers is provided to interested companies by MED FCD when they are asked to submit a proposal, so you will not have a named point of contact before that happens.

White paper format

The announcement specifies four sections.

Section A. Title, the technology area of interest you are responding to, period of performance, estimated cost of the task, name and address of the offeror, technical and contracting points of contact, telephone and fax numbers.

Section B. Task objective with a description of the work to be performed.

Section C. Technical summary and proposed deliverables. Include the anticipated period of performance and a rough order of magnitude cost, which is the total cost plus profit or fee if any. This is not a cost proposal and does not include the material that normally accompanies one. Provide a short technical description of the concepts and the plans to accomplish the technical objectives, briefly describe the technologies to be pursued, and identify any independent research and development work already underway in your company that has direct application. Address only the specific part of the BAA you intend to accomplish. A white paper that tries to cover the whole scope will most likely be rejected.

Section D. Quad chart. The quad has to present the capability as a single page snapshot and must visually convey the concept of employment, meaning what the capability will actually accomplish in operational terms, a description of the technical effort needed to get there, the benefit to MED FCD, your technical and management resources, costs, and schedule with major milestones.

Practical guidance on the quad chart

The quad is usually what determines whether anyone reads the white paper. Treat the concept of employment quadrant as the most important real estate on the page and use a real image or a clear graphic of the system moving a casualty in the environment described, not a rendering on a white background. Put numbers on the page. Weight, dimensions, casualty capacity, terrain performance, endurance, current technology readiness level, and the count of Soldiers required at the point of injury with and without your system. Leave the marketing adjectives out entirely.

Intellectual property and proprietary information

The Government acknowledges that information provided in response to this BAA is presented in confidence and may contain trade secret, commercial, or financial information, and it agrees to protect that information from unauthorized disclosure to the maximum extent permitted or required by the Trade Secrets Act at 18 U.S.C. 1905, the Economic Espionage Act at 18 U.S.C. 1831 and following, Freedom of Information Act Exemption 4 at 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), Executive Order 12600 covering pre disclosure notification procedures for confidential commercial information, and any other applicable statute or regulation.

Sound practice still applies. Mark proprietary material clearly and consistently on every page and every file. Describe your approach at a level that demonstrates feasibility without disclosing the specific implementation details that constitute your competitive advantage. Confirm export control and International Traffic in Arms Regulations status before you transmit technical data, especially if you have foreign nationals on your engineering team or a foreign parent entity. Keep in mind that a Scout Card is designed to be discoverable by government users across the Vulcan ecosystem, which is a benefit for visibility and a reason to be deliberate about what goes into the card versus what stays in a marked attachment.

Who should respond

This BAA is a strong fit if you are a robotics, autonomy, uncrewed systems, exoskeleton, medical device, or casualty handling company with hardware you can point at, even at low technology readiness level, and if you can absorb the cost of an unfunded engagement in exchange for requirements insight and senior leader visibility. It is a particularly good fit for dual use companies from search and rescue, mining, wildland firefighting, industrial rescue, and civilian emergency medical services, where the physics of moving an incapacitated human through bad terrain is already your core problem.

It is a poor fit if you need a contract award inside the next twelve months to survive, if your concept exists only as a slide deck with no path to a demonstrable prototype, if your solution requires the casualty to assist in loading, or if you cannot support travel and hardware costs for an experimentation event.

Common reasons submissions fail

• Trying to address the entire scope of the announcement instead of one specific slice

• Assuming casualty participation in loading, which contradicts the stated requirement

• Treating patient stabilization as a secondary feature with no clinical evidence behind it

• Ignoring signature management and degraded communications entirely

• A quad chart full of adjectives and no numbers

• No concept of employment, so an evaluator cannot picture the system in use by a real medical unit

• An unrealistic rough order of magnitude cost, in either direction

• Submitting a generic corporate capability statement rather than a tailored response to this Call

• Duplicate Scout Cards, which the Government will remove

• Submitting in the last two weeks, leaving no time for briefing or experimentation

How to convert this engagement into funding

Treat the MED FCD submission as the first move in a sequence rather than the end of one. Submit early and get on the calendar for a virtual briefing. Ask directly, during that briefing, which organizations own the transition path for the capability and whether the directorate can identify a government sponsor. Say yes to experimentation and show up prepared, because performance in front of operators is the evidence that funded solicitations reward. Capture everything that comes out of the engagement, including feedback, performance data, imagery, and any written expression of interest. Then use it. That package strengthens an Army SBIR or STTR proposal, a consortium white paper, an other transaction authority pursuit, a medical research program application, or a direct approach to a program office, and it does so far more than a well written proposal with no government relationship behind it.

Frequently asked questions

Is there funding available under the Medical Extraction BAA?

No. MED FCD has stated that it does not currently possess the resources or authorization to directly award or fund contracts under this announcement. Selection and progression through evaluation phases is for assessment purposes only and does not guarantee or imply a future contract award.

What is the deadline for the Medical Extraction BAA?

The announcement closes on December 31, 2026 at 10:59 PM CST unless it is amended. Submissions opened on August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT and are accepted on a rolling basis throughout that period.

Who issued the Medical Extraction BAA?

The U.S. Army Medical Capability Future Capability Directorate, known as MED FCD, which sits under Futures and Concepts Command within U.S. Army Futures Command. It is issued as a Call under the Army Medical Operational Capabilities for 2040 Broad Agency Announcement.

What do I have to submit?

A Vulcan Scout Card tailored to this Call, with a quad chart and a white paper attached. The white paper follows a four part format covering administrative data, task objective, technical summary with rough order of magnitude cost, and the quad chart itself.

What is a Vulcan Scout Card?

A Scout Card is a persistent structured profile of a single technology solution inside the Vulcan platform, which is a technology scouting environment sponsored by USSOCOM and used by government organizations across the Department of Defense. The card makes your capability discoverable by government users beyond the specific Call you submit it to, and attachments provide the specificity that a particular Call requires.

Can I submit the same Scout Card to multiple calls?

Yes, and you should. Vulcan lets you tailor elements of a submission to the context of each Call without maintaining multiple cards for the same solution. Duplicate cards for the same solution will be removed.

What technology readiness level does MED FCD expect?

The announcement does not specify a required technology readiness level. Because the objective is evaluation, experimentation, and demonstration, concepts from early prototype through advanced prototype are generally in scope, but you need something more than a paper concept if you want to reach an experimentation event. State your current level honestly and show the path to the next one.

Does my system have to be fully autonomous?

No. The announcement asks for low profile, automated, or semi autonomous capability. Teleoperated and Soldier assisted systems are responsive as long as they reduce the exposure of rescue personnel and can secure a casualty who cannot assist in loading.

Does the system have to handle non ambulatory casualties?

Yes. This is the central requirement. The system must be capable of retrieving and securing both ambulatory and non ambulatory casualties who are unable to climb or physically assist in their own loading. A solution that depends on casualty participation does not meet the stated requirement.

Do I need a security clearance or a government sponsor to submit?

The announcement does not state a clearance requirement for submission. Later experimentation events, particularly classified ones, can require cleared personnel, and government sponsorship becomes relevant as a technology moves into selection and experimentation. Plan for that possibility rather than assuming it.

Are small businesses and startups eligible?

Yes. Broad agency announcements of this type are open to a wide range of respondents, and this Call is explicitly aimed at innovative capability wherever it exists. Small businesses, startups, universities, and nontraditional defense entrants are all appropriate respondents. If you anticipate any future contracting relationship, get your System for Award Management registration, unique entity identifier, and CAGE code in order early.

Can non U.S. companies respond?

Foreign entities should proceed carefully. The announcement does not publish an eligibility restriction, but export control, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, foreign ownership control and influence considerations, and any subsequent contracting action will all shape what is actually possible. Companies with a U.S. subsidiary and U.S. based engineering are in a materially stronger position.

Will my proprietary information be protected?

The Government acknowledges that responses are presented in confidence and commits to protecting trade secret, commercial, and financial information to the maximum extent permitted by the Trade Secrets Act, the Economic Espionage Act, FOIA Exemption 4, and Executive Order 12600. You are still responsible for marking proprietary material clearly and for calibrating how much implementation detail you disclose.

What happens after I submit?

MED FCD evaluates Scout Cards against the BAA criteria on a continuous basis and contacts high potential candidates to coordinate virtual briefings or technology experimentation events. Selected participants may be asked for formal white papers, technical statements of work, and cost proposals. None of this guarantees an award.

How much cost should I put in the rough order of magnitude estimate?

No dollar range is published, so base the number on the actual cost of the specific effort you are proposing, including profit or fee if any, and make sure it is consistent with the scope of work described. The estimate should look like something an engineer built, not something a salesperson chose.

Is it worth responding if there is no money?

For most hardware companies working on casualty movement, yes, provided you go in with the right expectation. You are buying direct access to the organization that writes Army medical requirements, structured feedback on your capability, a chance to demonstrate in front of operators and senior leaders, and a documented government relationship that materially improves your odds in the funded solicitations that follow. You are paying for it with engineering time and, if selected, travel and hardware. Decide that trade deliberately.

How do I find funded opportunities for this technology instead?

Army SBIR and STTR topics, xTech competitions, the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium and other other transaction authority consortia, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command announcements, congressionally directed medical research programs, service and Defense Health Agency SBIR programs, and Defense Innovation Unit solicitations all fund technology in this space. Which one fits depends on your maturity, your entity type, and whether you already have a government sponsor.

Can BW&CO help me respond?

Yes. We help deep tech, medtech, and defense adjacent companies decide whether an opportunity like this is worth their time, position the capability against the stated requirement, build the quad chart and white paper, prepare for the government briefing, and sequence the engagement into funded non dilutive pursuits afterward.

Next step

If you are building casualty extraction, robotic mobility, exoskeleton, or en route care technology and want a candid read on whether this BAA is worth your engineering hours, we will tell you straight. BW&CO has helped clients secure more than $350 million in non dilutive funding, and the first conversation is about fit, not a pitch.

Innovation Funding Simplified.

NIH SBIR Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough Award (PA-27-101): Full Guide for Startups

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The NIH SBIR Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough Award (PA-27-101) provides up to $30,000,000 in follow-on funding to small businesses that have already completed an NIH SBIR or STTR Phase II award and need additional capital to bridge the gap to commercialization, often called the Valley of Death. The award requires companies to secure 100 percent matching funds from a new private investor or another government agency before applying. Standard due dates are September 5, January 5, and April 5 each year, with the next deadline on September 5, 2026. Only prior NIH Phase II recipients are eligible. There is no Phase I step for this award.

What This Funding Opportunity Is

The Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough Award is a reissue of two earlier NIH funding opportunities, PA-24-245 and PA-24-246, and it exists to solve one specific problem. Many biomedical, MedTech, and life sciences companies finish a strong Phase II award and still face years of additional work before they can commercialize, particularly if their product needs FDA clearance, involves a complex manufacturing process, or targets a small patient population. NIH calls this gap the Valley of Death, and this award is designed to bridge it with a second, larger Phase II style grant.

This is not a new company's first NIH grant. It is a continuation award available only to businesses that already hold or previously held an NIH SBIR or STTR Phase II grant, cooperative agreement, or contract. A company cannot apply for a Phase IIB award without that Phase II history, and the Phase IIB award can only begin after the original Phase II project has ended.

Nineteen NIH institutes, centers, and offices participate in this funding opportunity, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and others. Each participating component reviews applications aligned with its own mission and health research priorities.

Who Should Apply

This opportunity is a strong fit for a company if it can check most or all of the following boxes.

The company is a United States small business concern with 500 or fewer employees, including affiliates, and it already completed or is completing an NIH SBIR or STTR Phase II award.

The company has a product, therapeutic, device, or platform that needs a defined regulatory pathway, such as FDA clearance or approval, and that pathway requires more capital and more time than a standard Phase II budget allows.

The company can demonstrate, or is close to securing, a dollar-for-dollar match of the requested federal funds, drawn from new private capital such as venture investment, or from a non-SBIR federal or state award.

The company is within its first six standard due dates following the end of its Phase II budget period. Waiting longer than that risks losing eligibility for this specific mechanism.

If a company has Phase II results but does not yet have committed matching funds, or needs a smaller amount of technical assistance rather than a full second Phase II award, NIH recommends looking instead at the Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CRP) under PAR-27-098, which does not require a third-party match.

Funding Allowance and Budget Limits

Total funding support, meaning direct costs, indirect costs, and fee combined, cannot exceed $30,000,000 for a single Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough award. Beyond that ceiling, each participating institute or center sets its own budget guideline, and applicants must stay within the guideline for whichever component will review their application. Representative examples include the National Cancer Institute at up to $15,000,000, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at up to $4,500,000, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at up to $4,500,000, and most other participating institutes and centers at up to $3,000,000. A handful of components, including the National Eye Institute, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Office of Research on Women's Health, follow the standard SBA guideline rather than a fixed dollar figure.

The award period cannot exceed four years. Applicants should propose a project length that realistically matches the scope of the remaining development and commercialization work, not simply the maximum allowed.

Every dollar of federal funding requested must be matched by an equal dollar of third-party funding. This 100 percent match is a hard requirement under the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, and it is one of the most heavily weighted factors in review. Matching funds must come from new private capital, such as another company, a venture capital firm, or another private investor, from a new government award other than a Phase I or Phase II SBIR or STTR grant, or from a combination of the two. Letters documenting committed matching funds should be included with the application's letters of support, and additional proof may be requested later during Just in Time review.

Key Dates and Timeline

The opportunity was posted on May 28, 2026, and the earliest applications can be submitted is August 5, 2026.

Applications are accepted on the standard NIH cycle three times per year, and every submission must be a Renewal, Resubmission, or Revision application type, except in the specific case of a Phase IIB tied to an underlying Phase II contract rather than a grant, which is submitted as New.

The upcoming due dates and their associated review timelines are as follows.

September 5, 2026 due date leads to scientific merit review in November 2026, advisory council review in January 2027, and an earliest possible start date of April 2027.

January 5, 2027 due date leads to scientific merit review in March 2027, advisory council review in May 2027, and an earliest possible start date of July 2027.

April 5, 2027 due date leads to scientific merit review in July 2027, advisory council review in August 2027, and an earliest possible start date of December 2027.

This same September, January, April cycle repeats through the expiration date of April 6, 2029. All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time at the applicant organization, and no late applications are accepted under this opportunity. If a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it automatically moves to the next business day.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted electronically through one of three paths: the NIH ASSIST system, an institutional system to system solution, or Grants.gov Workspace, with application status then tracked in eRA Commons. Paper applications are not accepted.

Before submitting, a company must have several registrations active and current, and these can take six weeks or more to complete, so early preparation matters. The company needs an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), which also issues a Unique Entity Identifier and a CAGE code. It needs an SBA Company Registry registration, which requires the UEI first. It needs an eRA Commons organizational account with at least one Signing Official and one Program Director or Principal Investigator listed, and every Program Director or Principal Investigator needs both a personal eRA Commons account and a linked ORCID iD. Finally, the company needs an active Grants.gov registration, which itself requires an active SAM.gov registration to complete.

The primary employment of the Program Director or Principal Investigator must be with the small business at the time of award and throughout the project, with limited exceptions for multi-PI teams.

Required application components include a Regulatory Plan of no more than two pages describing the regulatory pathway and milestone timeline, a Commercialization Plan addressing market opportunity, target customers, competitive landscape, and the source and evidence of 100 percent matching funds, and, where applicable, a VCOC Certification for companies majority owned by venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms. A Data Management and Sharing Plan is not required for this specific opportunity.

What NIH Reviewers Are Looking For

Reviewers score applications on the standard NIH criteria of Significance, Investigators, Innovation, Approach, and Environment, with extra weight placed on commercial trajectory given the Phase IIB context. For this award specifically, reviewers pay close attention to the progress made during the original Phase II project, whether market research supports the technology as an effective solution, and whether the applicant has provided compelling, documented evidence of its 100 percent match. Applications are also evaluated against Strategic Breakthrough criteria, including the technology's potential to advance national security capabilities, whether it offers new alternatives to existing approaches, whether a federal agency customer has expressed intent to adopt the technology, and whether the technology area is currently undercapitalized by private investors.

Funding decisions also weigh scientific merit alongside fund availability, demonstrated availability of the required match, and results of an HHS security risk assessment. Companies with certain ties to foreign countries of concern, or that appear on specified federal restricted entity lists, cannot receive an award under this opportunity, and all applicants under consideration for funding must submit an SBA Disclosure of Foreign Affiliations form during Just in Time review.

Common Reasons Applications Are Rejected Before Review

Applications are screened for completeness and responsiveness before they ever reach a review panel. The most common disqualifiers under this opportunity are applying without a completed NIH Phase II award as the foundation, applying for a clinical trial through an institute that does not accept clinical trials under this NOFO, such as NCATS or ORIP, missing or incomplete SAM.gov, UEI, or eRA Commons registrations at the time of submission, and failing to document credible progress toward the required 100 percent match.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my company need a Phase I award to apply for Phase IIB? No. This opportunity is only for companies that already completed a Phase II award. There is no standalone Phase I component to this NOFO.

Can we apply if our matching funds are not fully secured yet? You should have strong, documented progress toward the full 100 percent match, ideally with signed or near final commitment letters, since this is one of the most heavily weighted review factors. If your match is not yet in place, the Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program under PAR-27-098 may be a better near-term fit.

How long do we have to apply after our Phase II award ends? You should submit within the first six standard NIH due dates following the end of your Phase II budget period to maintain eligibility for this mechanism.

What is the maximum award amount? Total funding support cannot exceed $30,000,000, though most participating institutes and centers set lower internal guidelines, commonly in the $3,000,000 to $4,500,000 range, with a few components following standard SBA guidelines instead.

Can foreign owned companies apply? No. Non-domestic entities and non-domestic components of United States organizations are not eligible. Companies with certain ownership ties, research affiliations, or listed relationships connected to countries of concern, including the People's Republic of China, are barred from receiving an award.

Is a clinical trial required? No. Clinical trials are optional under this opportunity, but applicants proposing a clinical trial should confirm their target institute or center accepts clinical trials, since NCATS and ORIP do not.

Can we submit more than one Phase IIB application? Yes, provided each application is scientifically distinct from any other pending or funded application, including any Commercialization Readiness Pilot application tied to the same underlying Phase II project.

What is the difference between Phase IIB and the Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP)? Phase IIB requires a full 100 percent third party match and functions as a second, larger Phase II award. CRP, under PAR-27-098, is designed for companies that need additional technical assistance or later stage research and development but do not yet have matching funds secured or need significant outsourced work. The two can run concurrently on the same underlying Phase II project if they are scientifically distinct.

Do we need a Data Management and Sharing Plan? No. This NOFO explicitly states a Data Management and Sharing Plan is not applicable.

What registrations do we need before we can submit? An active SAM.gov registration with an assigned UEI, an SBA Company Registry registration, an eRA Commons account for the organization and for each Program Director or Principal Investigator, an ORCID iD linked to each PD or PI's eRA Commons profile, and an active Grants.gov registration. Start this process early, since it can take six weeks or more from start to finish.

DIBC Critical Minerals RPP-CM-26-02: What Startups Need to Know

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) has opened a Request for Project Proposals titled Domestic Processing Capabilities of Critical Minerals, numbered RPP-CM-26-02. It funds domestic production and processing of four in-scope critical minerals: indium, magnesium, manganese (including high purity and electrolytic), and titanium (including sponge and sponge substitutes). The opportunity is run by the Department of War's Industrial Base Policy office through an Other Transaction (OT) agreement, which means awards are not governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and can use flexible, non-dilutive and equity-style funding tools. The process has two phases. Phase 1 is a single Quad Chart, due September 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. To submit, your company must be a member of the DIBC, be registered on SAM.gov, and file through ATI's Acquisition Management Portal at dibc-amp.ati.org. There is no published dollar ceiling, and evaluation language contemplates projects worth more than 100 million dollars and more than 500 million dollars, so awards can range from focused pilot efforts to very large capacity-building projects.

What This Opportunity Is

RPP-CM-26-02 is a solicitation issued under the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, an Other Transaction vehicle administered by Advanced Technology International (ATI) on behalf of Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD). The sponsoring organization is Industrial Base Policy (IBP), which sits within the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. IBP works through its Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution office and draws on two authorities: Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) and Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III.

The purpose is to build resilient, secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals that matter to national security and defense. It responds directly to Executive Order 14241, signed March 20, 2025, titled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, which directed the government to expand domestic mining, processing, refining, and smelting to the maximum extent possible and to use Defense Production Act authorities to get there.

Because this is an OT and not a traditional contract, the award instrument is a Project Agreement between ATI and the government, flowed down to your company as a project sub-agreement. Neither instrument is subject to the FAR or its supplements. That gives the government room to negotiate commercial terms, milestone-based fixed pricing, and the equity-style structures described later on this page.

The Four In-Scope Minerals

Your proposed project must address at least one of these commodities:

Indium.

Magnesium.

Manganese, including high purity and electrolytic forms.

Titanium, including sponge and sponge substitutes.

The government is clear that this list does not represent every mineral it considers critical. It also actively encourages co-production. If your process produces at least one in-scope mineral, you may recover additional in-scope minerals or other critical mineral products as co-products or by-products, and that breadth is viewed favorably.

The Six Capability Areas (AOIs)

Beyond naming a mineral, your project must fit at least one of six Areas of Interest. You can span more than one.

AOI 1, Raw mineral sourcing and beneficiation. This covers identifying, extracting, concentrating, and beneficiating ores to source an in-scope mineral. It includes bankable or definitive feasibility studies needed to secure investment, infrastructure and capital investments to operationalize mining or beneficiation, development of by-product or co-product streams from existing operations, productivity enhancements such as flowsheet optimization or autonomous systems, and efforts that move extraction projects toward operation or expand current capacity.

AOI 2, Separation and processing. Processes that transform raw or beneficiated material into intermediate chemical forms such as oxides, chlorides, and salts.

AOI 3, Metal production, metallization, refining, and upscaling. Producing metals from semi-processed material by smelting and other methods, and refining or upscaling metals to purified forms suitable for critical applications.

AOI 4, Alloying and finish processing. Creating alloys from two or more metals, coating or plating materials to impart specific properties, and transforming or combining purified materials into products ready to enter critical component supply chains.

AOI 5, Recycling, recovery, and alternative sourcing. Recovering in-scope minerals from mine tailings, industrial waste, scrap, swarf, end-of-life material, and other underutilized sources. Recovery can happen at any point in the value chain.

AOI 6, Supporting supply chains. Producing chemical reagents, key inputs, tooling, production equipment, and other materials that support the critical processes in these mineral value chains. This also includes qualifying materials for Department of War systems and applications.

The government specifically encourages holistic solutions that touch multiple stages, for example extraction plus beneficiation plus processing to oxide, or recycling plus metal making plus refining plus alloying to defense specifications.

What the Government Is Actually Looking For

This is not a research-for-its-own-sake program. The Department of War wants demonstrable progress toward standing up and securing real supply chains. A competitive proposal makes a clear case on several fronts.

It states the effort's impact and its relevance to defense industry supply chains, and it quantifies expected production volumes rather than speaking in generalities.

It addresses the current state of the market, the demand picture, and a sustainable commercialization pathway for the mineral and capability area you are targeting. The government is funding capacity that can survive commercially, not a demonstration that collapses when funding ends.

It specifies both a Technology Readiness Level and a Manufacturing Readiness Level, giving the starting point, the finishing point, and a clear description of the advancement your project will deliver on each scale.

Solutions that cross multiple AOIs, produce multiple minerals, or knit together several nodes of a supply chain are encouraged, provided they still name at least one in-scope mineral and at least one AOI.

Eligibility: You Must Be a DIBC Member First

This is the single most important thing for a startup to understand, because the solicitation assumes it throughout by referring only to "Consortium Members." You cannot submit unless your company is a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium.

DIBC membership is open to United States based companies, United States based affiliates of foreign companies, and organizations based in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is open to companies, innovators, research institutions, and academic institutions working on defense industrial base supply chain challenges. Membership is currently free for the first year, and dues thereafter are modest, with the consortium reserving the right to charge up to 250 dollars annually. Membership does not imply any government endorsement, and it does not guarantee funding or an award.

Two practical points matter for timing. First, you must be registered in the System for Award Management at SAM.gov to receive an award, and you must keep that registration active for the life of the sub-agreement. Non United States entities also need a NATO Commercial and Government Entity code. Second, apply for membership early. Waiting until a solicitation is already open can create processing delays that leave you unable to submit before the deadline. With a September 17 close, a startup that is not yet a member should begin the membership and SAM.gov steps immediately and in parallel.

Funding Structures and Cost Considerations

There is no fixed award ceiling published in this RPP. The evaluation criteria explicitly contemplate projects valued over 100 million dollars and over 500 million dollars, with progressively stricter justification requirements at each tier, which signals that awards can be substantial. Smaller, focused efforts are equally in scope.

As a default, agreements are executed as fixed-price with a milestone schedule that doubles as the payment schedule. Each milestone should map to specific priced tasks or deliverables. Other award types can be proposed and negotiated, so the fixed-price default is a starting point rather than a hard rule.

The government also signals a wide menu of financial tools beyond a straight milestone-payment agreement, particularly for technologies and materials critical to national security. These include direct equity stakes, Simple Agreements for Future Equity, convertible notes, percent-of-revenue or royalty and revenue-share agreements (including convertible revenue share, royalty with warrants, and equity-linked royalty structures), and offtake agreements at a guaranteed price point that may carry an equity-linked component. Under DPA Title III specifically, the government can use purchase commitments and guarantees to create guaranteed demand, loans where private financing is not commercially available, and loan guarantees where credit is otherwise unavailable on reasonable terms. For a capital-intensive minerals project, these demand-side and financing tools can matter as much as the direct award.

For a prototype project awarded under 10 U.S.C. 4022, there is a participation and cost-share requirement. The use of that authority is contingent on one of three conditions being met: significant participation by at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution, complete participation by a small business, or a resource contribution of at least one-third from any consortium member that does not fall into the categories just named. A startup that qualifies as a nontraditional defense contractor or small business is well positioned here, because its participation can satisfy this condition without a mandatory one-third cash match. If you rely on the resource-contribution path instead, you must tie each contribution to the milestone payment schedule and summarize the base and option period split.

One more cost note. The government will not reimburse any costs you incur preparing a submission in either phase, so proposal development is at your own expense.

Timeline and Deadlines

Release date: August 21, 2026.

Phase 1 Quad Chart due: September 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. Late submissions may not be reviewed or considered, and the government may close the RPP at any time.

Phase 2 by invitation: only companies selected from Phase 1 are invited to submit the full proposal package. There is no public fixed date for Phase 2, because invitations are issued on a rolling basis after Phase 1 review.

The basket: a Phase 1 Quad Chart that is not immediately selected is held in what the government calls "the basket" for a minimum of 24 months and remains eligible for a Phase 2 invitation during that window. A qualifying Phase 2 package the government chooses not to fund immediately is likewise held for at least 24 months and remains eligible for award. Submissions in the basket may be shared with other government agencies for other opportunities, with access restricted to government users. This means a strong submission has a long shelf life even if it is not funded on the first pass.

Follow-on production: because this can be awarded as a competitively selected prototype OT, a successfully completed prototype may lead to a follow-on production agreement without a new competition, under 10 U.S.C. 4022(f). That follow-on is negotiated separately.

How to Apply, Step by Step

First, confirm eligibility and become a DIBC member if you are not already, and complete or verify your SAM.gov registration. Do these in parallel and start now given the deadline.

Second, prepare the Phase 1 Quad Chart using the mandatory template provided with the solicitation. This is a concise, single-artifact outline of your proposed solution. Do not alter the template syntax or formatting, other than converting to a final PDF. Files must be print-capable, unencrypted, not password protected, and under 5 megabytes.

Third, submit electronically through ATI's Acquisition Management Portal at dibc-amp.ati.org. The RPP itself is posted on the DIBC opportunities website at dibconsortium.org/solicitations, where you will also find AMP registration and Quick Card guidance. You are responsible for timely submission, and neither the government nor ATI assumes responsibility for transmission delays.

Fourth, if selected, complete the Phase 2 package. It consists of a cover page (two page limit), a Project Execution Plan (fifteen page limit, and the document where you lay out tasks, deliverables, payment milestones, data rights assertions, security requirements, and success criteria), an Affirmation of Business Status Certification for your company and for every entity participating to a significant extent, price information with a pricing spreadsheet and a price justification narrative, and an Environmental Assessment Questionnaire. All Phase 2 templates are mandatory.

A note on where you apply. The solicitation and your submission live in ATI's portal, not on SAM.gov. SAM.gov is where your company registration and representations must be active in order to receive an award, and those representations are incorporated by reference into any resulting agreement. Treat SAM.gov as a required credential and dibc-amp.ati.org as the submission destination.

How Proposals Are Evaluated

Phase 1 review looks at two things: relevance to the Area of Interest, and merit and feasibility relative to the Area of Interest. Miss either and your submission stops advancing. The government may decline to advance a proposal that does not address the AOI, is technically unsound or infeasible, proposes an unrealistic schedule, or is simply not of interest. Feedback on Phase 1 may not be provided, and companies are notified only if they advance.

Phase 2 review adds several factors: relevance to the AOI, merit and feasibility, reasonableness of the proposed schedule, reasonableness and adequacy of the proposed cost (with the heightened justification tiers noted above for efforts over 100 million and over 500 million dollars), and the potential impact of your data rights assertions. Overly restrictive data rights that limit the government's ability to use or share the resulting technology are called out as a specific risk.

Security, Environmental, and Compliance Notes

The default security level is unclassified, though the work may involve Controlled Technical Information or Controlled Unclassified Information. Any submission expected to include CUI is subject to the security requirements in NIST Special Publication 800-171 revision 2. Classified material may not be included in submissions.

Consortium members are expected to disclose foreign investment or control, address resource sharing, and provide supply chain data for relevant suppliers and subcontractors, including vendor name, CAGE or Unique Entity Identifier codes where applicable, and part or product numbers and descriptions.

The Environmental Assessment Questionnaire requires you to address existing environmental notices at your proposed activity location, your plans for environmental compliance and pollution prevention appropriate to the scale of the work, and a path to obtaining and maintaining the permits needed to scale the prototype, including responsible waste management and use of maximum achievable or best available control technology.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is RPP-CM-26-02?

It is the Defense Industrial Base Consortium's Request for Project Proposals for Domestic Processing Capabilities of Critical Minerals, released August 21, 2026, with Phase 1 submissions due September 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. It funds domestic sourcing, processing, refining, alloying, recycling, and supporting supply chains for indium, magnesium, manganese, and titanium.

Which minerals are eligible?

Four commodities are in scope: indium, magnesium, manganese (including high purity and electrolytic forms), and titanium (including sponge and sponge substitutes). You must address at least one, and you may produce others as co-products or by-products.

Do I have to be a DIBC member to apply?

Yes. Only Consortium Members can submit. Membership is free for the first year and open to United States based companies, United States based affiliates of foreign companies, and entities in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Apply for membership and complete SAM.gov registration early, because starting after the solicitation opens can leave too little time to submit.

Where do I actually submit my proposal?

Through ATI's Acquisition Management Portal at dibc-amp.ati.org. The RPP and registration guidance are posted at dibconsortium.org/solicitations. SAM.gov is where your company must be registered to receive an award, but it is not where you upload your proposal.

How much funding is available?

The RPP does not publish a fixed ceiling. Evaluation language contemplates projects worth more than 100 million dollars and more than 500 million dollars, so award sizes vary widely from focused pilots to major capacity projects. Agreements default to fixed-price with milestone payments, and other structures can be negotiated.

What funding structures can the government use?

Beyond a milestone-based fixed-price agreement, the government may use direct equity stakes, SAFEs, convertible notes, royalty and revenue-share agreements, offtake agreements at a guaranteed price, and, under DPA Title III, purchase commitments, loans, and loan guarantees. These are especially relevant for capital-intensive minerals projects.

Is there a cost-share or matching requirement?

For prototype projects under 10 U.S.C. 4022, use of that authority is contingent on one of three conditions: significant participation by a nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution, complete participation by a small business, or at least a one-third resource contribution from other members. Startups that are nontraditional or small businesses can often satisfy this through participation rather than a cash match.

What do I submit in Phase 1 versus Phase 2?

Phase 1 is a single Quad Chart on the mandatory template. Phase 2, by invitation only, is a full package: a two-page cover page, a fifteen-page Project Execution Plan, an Affirmation of Business Status Certification, price information and justification, and an Environmental Assessment Questionnaire, all on mandatory templates.

What happens if I am not selected right away?

Qualifying Phase 1 and Phase 2 submissions are placed in "the basket" for at least 24 months and remain eligible for an invitation or award during that window. They may also be shared with other government agencies for other opportunities, so a strong submission keeps working for you well past the initial review.

Can this lead to a production contract?

Yes. A successfully completed prototype under this OT can lead to a follow-on production agreement without a new competition, under 10 U.S.C. 4022(f). That follow-on is negotiated separately.

Does the government pay for my proposal costs?

No. The government will not reimburse costs associated with preparing your submission in either phase.

Need Help Positioning Your Company?

Winning non-dilutive and equity-style federal funding for critical minerals work is as much about how you frame technology readiness, production volume, and commercialization as it is about the science. BW&CO helps deep-tech, materials, and defense-adjacent founders map their capability to the right authority, structure a competitive Quad Chart, and build the Phase 2 package that survives cost and data-rights review. If you are weighing a submission to RPP-CM-26-02, reach out before the September 17 deadline.

ARPA-H STREAM Program: Funding, Deadline, and How to Apply

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The STREAM program (Systems for Tracking and Resilience in Efficient Agricultural-input Management) is an ARPA-H research initiative that funds breakthrough technology to control weeds while reducing herbicide exposure for farmers, farm workers, consumers, and the environment. Launched by the Department of Health and Human Services through ARPA-H on August 17, 2026, STREAM seeks solutions across four technical areas: next-generation herbicides and formulations, precision and nonchemical weed control, low-cost chemical monitoring, and methods to remove or degrade herbicides in soil and water. Applications are made as Solution Summaries through the Scalable Solutions Office Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO), notice ID ARPA-H-SOL-24-105, which is posted and maintained on SAM.gov. Solution Summaries that select STREAM are due no later than September 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET. STREAM is funded through Other Transactions rather than SBIR or STTR grants, so awards are negotiated per project and there is no fixed application dollar cap published in the announcement.

Program Overview

STREAM is ARPA-H's push to modernize American agriculture at the intersection of crop chemistry and human health. Herbicides keep food affordable, support regenerative farming, and help farmers stay productive, but some herbicides and their formulation ingredients can affect people, animals, fish, and pollinators. Farmers, farm workers, and consumers are exposed through food, water, soil, and air, while weeds grow more resistant and off-target runoff harms nearby habitats and rural communities. Alternatives have been sought for years without resolving the core tradeoff between efficacy, health, safety, ecological impact, soil dynamics, and cost.

STREAM aims to close that gap. The program funds safer alternative crop protection formulations, better monitoring of where herbicides travel, and practical ways to break down or remove agricultural chemicals before they reach consumers. If it succeeds, STREAM will lower the cumulative chemical burden on consumers and agricultural workers, protect the soil and water the food supply depends on, and give farmers economically viable alternatives to the products they rely on today.

The program is one piece of a broader interagency commitment. HHS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have pledged to invest more than one billion dollars in farm modernization and long-term food security, and STREAM advances that effort along with the federal push toward regenerative agriculture. That one billion dollar figure is the joint interagency envelope, not a single STREAM award pool, so applicants should not read it as a per-project budget.

What ARPA-H Is Looking For

STREAM is organized around four coordinated technical areas. A submission must address one or more of these areas to be considered, and ARPA-H encourages interdisciplinary teams drawn from agricultural and weed sciences, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced chemistry, drone development, sensing, and related fields.

Technical Area 1: Next-generation herbicides and formulations. Use artificial intelligence and machine learning to discover novel chemical compounds, biologically derived herbicides, and advanced biological treatments that selectively target weeds, including resistant species, while minimizing impacts on the surrounding ecosystem. The goal is efficacy against hard-to-kill weeds without the collateral health and environmental cost of current products.

Technical Area 2: Precision and nonchemical weed control. Advance cost-effective physical weed-control approaches such as laser ablation and miniature autonomous weeders, machine vision-guided targeted herbicide application, real-time drift modeling, and U.S.-manufactured drone-based precision application systems. The aim is to cut chemical inputs while keeping farms productive. Domestic manufacturing of the drone platforms is called out specifically.

Technical Area 3: Improved monitoring of herbicides and associated chemicals. Develop accurate, low-cost, continuous sensing technologies for compounds that are currently difficult and expensive to measure. Better sensing enables community-level monitoring and faster response when a problem appears, rather than waiting on slow or costly lab analysis.

Technical Area 4: Remove or degrade herbicides and associated chemicals. Create methods to rapidly break down agricultural chemicals in soil and water, intercept runoff before it reaches waterways, and reduce residues absorbed by crops. This is the cleanup and containment side of the program, ensuring chemicals are removed from the environment after they do their work.

ARPA-H funds revolutionary rather than incremental ideas, and its programs typically target early-stage technologies with a clear path to maturity. Teams that combine a bold technical concept with a credible plan to reach real-world deployment tend to fit the agency's model best.

Funding and Award Structure

There is an important structural point that startups should understand before applying. STREAM is not an SBIR or STTR opportunity. It runs through a Mission Office Innovative Solutions Opening, and ARPA-H primarily uses Other Transactions and cooperative agreements rather than traditional grants. Other Transactions are flexible business arrangements that let the government adopt commercial-style terms and negotiate scope, milestones, intellectual property, reporting, and payments on a per-award basis.

Because awards are negotiated, the STREAM announcement does not publish a fixed dollar ceiling for applications. For context, ARPA-H operates on an annual budget of roughly 1.5 billion dollars and has historically supported large, milestone-driven awards that can range from single millions to tens of millions of dollars per project, depending on scope. Your budget is built in the Cost Proposal that accompanies a full proposal, and it must reconcile with the milestones and level of effort you commit to.

A few cost-related details from the current ISO documents are worth noting when you plan your budget. Proposers must provide supporting documentation for planned materials and equipment purchases once the unit cost reaches ten thousand dollars, an increase from the prior five thousand dollar threshold. Profit or fee is treated as not applicable unless you specifically include it in the Cost Proposal Workbook. The ISO also defines burdened labor rate and fully burdened labor rate for clarity, and it notes that fully burdened labor rates are not used in the Cost Proposal Workbooks.

Eligibility

ARPA-H opportunities are open to a broad range of performers, including companies, small businesses, startups, universities, and nonprofit research organizations, and the agency encourages collaborative teams. STREAM specifically invites experts across agricultural science, artificial intelligence, chemistry, drones, and sensing to team up on its objectives.

Two eligibility constraints matter for planning. ARPA-H prioritizes awards to domestic recipients, and it cannot award funding to entities organized under the laws of a covered foreign country, which include Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China. Applicants should also be prepared to address organizational conflicts of interest, research security, human and animal subjects considerations where relevant, and biosecurity, since the ISO documents include disclosure requirements in each of these areas.

Timeline

The program was launched on August 17, 2026. Solution Summaries that select STREAM are due no later than September 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET. After you submit a Solution Summary, you should wait to hear back from ARPA-H with feedback before proceeding to a full proposal. Only summaries that receive encouragement move forward, which protects you from investing in a full proposal that is not aligned.

It helps to understand how STREAM sits inside the broader solicitation. STREAM submissions flow through the Scalable Solutions Office ISO, notice ID ARPA-H-SOL-24-105, which is a rolling solicitation that remains active on SAM.gov with a much later administrative closing date in 2029. STREAM itself carries the firm September 14, 2026 cutoff, so treat that as your working deadline regardless of the ISO's longer horizon.

How to Apply

STREAM applications are made through the Scalable Solutions Office ISO on SAM.gov, and the steps are as follows.

First, access the Scalable Solutions solicitation, notice ID ARPA-H-SOL-24-105, on SAM.gov. This solicitation and its attachments provide the full details on eligibility, submission requirements, evaluation criteria, contacts, and the link to apply.

Second, download all documents in the Attachment section, including the ISO document, the Solution Summary template (Appendix A), and the bundle of attachments. Follow the instructions in the ISO document and its associated files when preparing your Solution Summary.

Third, submit your Solution Summary using the link provided in the solicitation documents, at the ARPA-H Solutions site. When prompted, select STREAM from the Solution Summary dropdown list. A sign-in is required to submit, and your summary must be in by September 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET.

Fourth, await feedback. Do not begin a full proposal until you hear back from ARPA-H on your Solution Summary.

If you have questions about the opportunity, submit them through the Ask A Question form on the ARPA-H Solutions site, select STREAM from the dropdown, and note that a sign-in is required.

How BW&CO Consulting Supports STREAM Applicants

BW&CO Consulting helps deep-tech, biotech, MedTech, agtech, and dual-use founders pursue non-dilutive federal funding across ARPA-H, NIH, NSF, DoD, NASA, DOE, and other agencies. Because STREAM runs on an Other Transactions ISO rather than a conventional SBIR or STTR grant, it rewards a sharp technical narrative, a credible commercialization and manufacturing story, and a milestone plan that a program manager can act on quickly. If you are weighing a STREAM Solution Summary, we can assess fit against the four technical areas, shape the concept for the ARPA-H model, and prepare a competitive submission ahead of the September 14, 2026 deadline. Reach out to start a fit conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ARPA-H STREAM program? STREAM, short for Systems for Tracking and Resilience in Efficient Agricultural-input Management, is an ARPA-H program that funds breakthrough technology to control weeds while reducing herbicide exposure for farmers, farm workers, consumers, and the environment. It was launched by HHS through ARPA-H on August 17, 2026.

Who runs STREAM and what agency funds it? STREAM is run by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which sits within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program manager is James Coburn, CAPT.

When is the STREAM application deadline? Solution Summaries that select STREAM are due no later than September 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET.

How do I apply to STREAM? You apply by submitting a Solution Summary through the Scalable Solutions Office ISO, notice ID ARPA-H-SOL-24-105, which is posted on SAM.gov. Download the solicitation attachments, prepare your Solution Summary using the provided template, submit it at the ARPA-H Solutions site, and select STREAM from the dropdown.

What are the four STREAM technical areas? The four technical areas are next-generation herbicides and formulations, precision and nonchemical weed control, improved low-cost monitoring of herbicides and associated chemicals, and methods to remove or degrade those chemicals in soil and water. A submission must address at least one of these areas.

How much funding does STREAM provide? STREAM does not publish a fixed award ceiling in its announcement because awards are negotiated per project through Other Transactions. For context, ARPA-H typically supports milestone-driven awards ranging from single millions to tens of millions of dollars, and STREAM advances a broader interagency commitment of more than one billion dollars in farm modernization shared across HHS, USDA, and EPA.

Is STREAM an SBIR or STTR opportunity? No. STREAM is offered through a Mission Office Innovative Solutions Opening and uses Other Transactions and cooperative agreements, not SBIR or STTR grants. This means the application pathway, budgeting, and terms differ from a standard SBIR solicitation.

What funding mechanism does ARPA-H use? ARPA-H primarily uses Other Transactions and cooperative agreements. Other Transactions are flexible, commercial-style agreements that allow scope, milestones, intellectual property, reporting, and payment terms to be negotiated on a per-award basis.

Who is eligible to apply for STREAM? Eligibility is broad and includes companies, startups, small businesses, universities, and nonprofit research organizations, and teaming is encouraged. ARPA-H prioritizes domestic recipients and cannot award funding to entities organized under the laws of a covered foreign country, including Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China.

Can startups and small businesses apply? Yes. Startups and small businesses can apply and are well suited to STREAM's emphasis on bold, early-stage technology, provided they can present a credible technical concept and a plan to reach real-world deployment.

What is a Solution Summary? A Solution Summary is a short initial submission that describes your proposed solution against the program objectives. ARPA-H reviews it and provides feedback before inviting a full proposal, which saves applicants from investing in a full proposal that is not aligned.

What happens after I submit a Solution Summary? After you submit, you wait for feedback from ARPA-H. You should not begin a full proposal until you have heard back, and only encouraged summaries advance to the full proposal stage.

Where do I submit my STREAM application? Solution Summaries are submitted at the ARPA-H Solutions site using the link in the solicitation documents, with STREAM selected from the dropdown. The underlying solicitation, ARPA-H-SOL-24-105, is accessed and downloaded from SAM.gov, and questions go through the Ask A Question form on the same ARPA-H Solutions site.

NIH SBIR Bioethics Research Funding for Startups: 2026 Guide

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The NIH Highlighted Topic "Strengthening Biomedical Research, Promoting Trust, and Improving Health through Bioethics Research" invites small businesses to develop actionable bioethics tools and approaches across artificial intelligence, research engagement, informed consent, and return of research results. This is not a standalone funding opportunity. It is a Highlighted Topic, which means you apply through the NIH, CDC and FDA Parent SBIR announcement (PA-27-100) or, if you are partnering with a university or other nonprofit, the Parent STTR announcement (PA-27-102). The topic is active from August 14, 2026 through January 12, 2028. Standard NIH SBIR due dates are September 5, 2026 (adjusted to September 8, 2026), January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027. Phase I funding runs up to the current SBA guideline of about $323,090, with several participating Institutes offering waivers of $400,000 or $700,000. Phase II funding runs up to about $2,153,927 under the SBA guideline, with several Institutes offering waivers of $2.5 million or $3 million.

What Is the NIH Bioethics Research Highlighted Topic?

The Highlighted Topic is an area of science that NIH has flagged as a priority for its participating Institutes, Centers, and Offices. It signals to investigators that if they build a competitive application in this space, multiple NIH components are interested in funding it. A Highlighted Topic is not a Notice of Funding Opportunity. There is no separate application package, no dedicated funding number, and no set-aside budget attached to the topic itself. Instead, NIH directs you to submit through a broad parent announcement and to make your project relevant to at least one participating Institute or Center that awards grants.

For a small business, the practical path is the Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100. If your project depends on a formal collaboration with a nonprofit research institution such as a university, the correct vehicle is the Parent STTR announcement PA-27-102. In both programs the award goes to the small business, and both are strong fits for bioethics work because much of the field's expertise sits inside academic centers.

The topic was posted on August 14, 2026 and expires January 12, 2028. Because that window spans more than a year, you can target any of the standard SBIR due dates that fall inside it, applying through whichever parent SBIR announcement is current at your chosen deadline.

How Do You Apply for This Bioethics Topic?

You apply by submitting an SBIR application to PA-27-100 (or an STTR application to PA-27-102) and making your project responsive to the bioethics areas of interest for at least one participating Institute or Center. You do not apply to the Highlighted Topic directly.

A few practical points shape a competitive submission. First, NIH's Center for Scientific Review assigns every application to the most appropriate Institute, so you are not required to name an awarding component in advance. You may request an assignment on the PHS Assignment Request Form, and you are strongly encouraged to contact program staff at the Institute you believe is the best fit before you apply. Second, several of the offices listed in the topic, including the Office of Science Policy, the Office of AIDS Research, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the Office of Data Science Strategy, do not award grants. Your application must map to an Institute or Center that does. Third, because SBIR is a commercialization program, your bioethics work needs a product or service with commercial potential, not a purely academic study. More on that below.

What Kind of Research Is NIH Looking For?

The purpose of this topic is to advance bioethics research projects that are actionable, that build trust, and that improve how bioethical principles are integrated into biomedical and behavioral research. NIH wants work that strengthens science so that research generates evidence-based products communities will adopt more readily. The specific areas of interest fall into five buckets.

Artificial intelligence. NIH is interested in access to and use of AI models and algorithms, maximizing the generalizability of AI, strategies for AI transparency and data privacy, and the integration of digital health research. This is one of the most naturally commercializable areas for a startup, covering audit and transparency tooling, bias and generalizability testing, and privacy-preserving infrastructure.

Research engagement. NIH is interested in approaches for effective community engagement, co-developing research priorities with communities, building and sustaining research trustworthiness, and improving recruitment and access to clinical trials. Platforms and methods that make engagement measurable and repeatable are a fit here.

Informed consent. NIH is interested in strategies and structures for facilitating transparency and autonomy, community approaches to consenting for population-level public health research, and novel forms of consent, including consent for research use of electronic health records, wearables, linked data, and public health data. Consent management systems and dynamic consent tooling map directly to this area.

Return of research results. NIH is interested in approaches for returning aggregate and individual research results, strategies for communicating findings in ways that support health decision-making, and considerations for populations with unique needs or decision-making circumstances. Communication tools and result-delivery systems fit here.

Other cross-cutting issues. NIH also flags data access and sharing, biosafety and biosecurity, and emerging and novel technologies.

Individual Institutes layer their own priorities on top of these buckets. The National Human Genome Research Institute is focused on ethical, legal, and social implications of genetics and genomics. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering is focused on ethics across the technology development continuum, including AI and machine learning, point-of-care technologies, and re-identifiability risks from imaging data. The National Institute on Aging is focused on autonomy, consent tailored to older adults, and the ethical use of AI in aging populations. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is focused on return of results, stigma reduction, and vulnerable-population protections. The BRAIN Initiative, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Eye Institute each bring neurotechnology, neuroimaging, and vision-specific angles. Aligning your project to a specific Institute's stated priorities, rather than to the topic in general, is what separates a fundable application from a vague one.

Which NIH Institutes and Centers Participate?

The Institutes and Centers that award grants under this topic include the National Cancer Institute, the National Eye Institute, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute of Nursing Research. The BRAIN Initiative also participates, funding through its associated Institutes.

Several offices are interested in the topic but do not award grants, including the Office of Science Policy, the Office of AIDS Research, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the Office of Data Science Strategy. Applications relevant to these offices must still be assigned to and funded by one of the participating grant-making Institutes or Centers.

How Much Funding Can a Startup Receive?

Funding depends on which Institute your application is assigned to, because budgets vary across NIH components. The default ceiling is the current SBA guideline, which NIH lists at about $323,090 in total costs for Phase I and about $2,153,927 for Phase II. Those figures include direct costs, indirect costs, and fee, and the SBA adjusts them annually, so confirm the current number on the NIH SEED website before you build your budget.

Many Institutes have secured waivers to exceed the SBA guideline. Among the components participating in this bioethics topic, the following Phase I ceilings apply. The National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke offer Phase I budgets up to $700,000. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and the National Institute of Nursing Research offer Phase I budgets up to $400,000. The National Eye Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute set Phase I at $400,000. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences follow the standard SBA guideline for Phase I.

On the Phase II side, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke offer Phase II budgets up to $3 million. The National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute of Nursing Research offer Phase II budgets up to $2.5 million. The National Eye Institute, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences follow the standard SBA guideline for Phase II.

In every case, NIH expects a budget that is reasonable and appropriate for the work, not a number anchored to the ceiling. Requests at or near a hard cap should be well justified. If you intend to request more than the SBA guideline, contact the participating Institute early in your planning process.

What Is the Timeline and What Are the Deadlines?

The Parent SBIR announcement opened for submissions on August 5, 2026. Its standard due dates are September 5, 2026, January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027, each at 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. When a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, NIH automatically rolls it to the next business day. September 5, 2026 is a Saturday and September 7 is Labor Day, so the effective first deadline is Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 itself expires April 6, 2027, and NIH typically reissues its parent announcements, so applicants targeting later cycles should apply through whichever parent SBIR is current at that time.

The review path is predictable. An application submitted for the September 2026 cycle receives scientific merit review in November 2026, advisory council review in January 2027, and an earliest possible start date of April 2027. A January 2027 submission maps to March 2027 review, May 2027 council, and a July 2027 earliest start. Build backward from your target start date, and remember that no late applications are accepted for this announcement.

Project periods are constrained by statute. Phase I awards normally may not exceed 6 months, and Phase II awards normally may not exceed 2 years. NIH also offers two accelerated paths that only apply to NIH components: Fast-Track, which submits and reviews Phase I and Phase II together to reduce the funding gap, and Direct to Phase II, for companies that have already demonstrated feasibility but never received a Phase I for that project.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

Only United States small business concerns are eligible. To qualify, your company must be organized for profit with a place of business in the United States, must operate primarily in the United States or make a significant contribution to the US economy, and must have no more than 500 employees including affiliates. Ownership must satisfy one of the allowed structures: more than 50 percent directly owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent residents, or majority owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms under the specific limits in the announcement, where no single such firm owns more than 50 percent unless it independently qualifies as a small business.

The Program Director or Principal Investigator must be primarily employed by the small business at the time of award and during the project. For projects with multiple PDs or PIs, at least one must meet this primary employment requirement.

The work-share rules also matter. In SBIR Phase I, the small business normally performs at least two-thirds, or 67 percent, of the research or analytical effort. In SBIR Phase II, the small business normally performs at least one-half, or 50 percent. Consultant and contractual arrangements to third parties are generally capped at the remaining share. If your bioethics project leans heavily on academic collaborators, the STTR announcement PA-27-102 may be the better structural fit, since it allows a nonprofit partner to perform a larger share.

What Registrations Do You Need Before Applying?

You must complete and maintain several registrations before you can submit, and they can take six weeks or more in total, so start immediately. You need an active System for Award Management registration, which issues your Unique Entity Identifier and a CAGE Code. You need to register in the SBA Company Registry, which requires your UEI first. You need an eRA Commons account for your organization, with at least one Signing Official and one Program Director or Principal Investigator, and obtaining an account can take up to two weeks. You need a Grants.gov registration, which depends on an active SAM registration. Every PD or PI must also have an eRA Commons ID and must link a valid ORCID iD to their eRA Commons profile. Failure to complete registrations on time is not an accepted reason for a late submission.

What Are the Key Compliance and Foreign Risk Rules?

Two areas deserve early attention. The first is foreign involvement. Non-US entities and non-US components of US organizations are not eligible to apply. NIH will not issue awards that involve foreign subawards or subcontracts under this announcement, and any application that includes them will be deemed noncompliant and will not be funded. Unfunded international collaborations, funding for foreign consultants, and procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors may still be allowed.

The second is foreign risk disclosure and security review. Applicants under consideration for award must submit the SBA Required Disclosures of Foreign Affiliations or Relationships to Foreign Countries form during the just-in-time process, covering all owners and covered individuals. HHS cannot make an award if the company has an owner or covered individual party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program, a parent company or subsidiary located in the People's Republic of China or another country of concern, or other disqualifying ties described in the announcement. NIH, CDC, and FDA will not provide an opportunity to cure an identified security risk before award, though a denial on security grounds does not bar the company from applying in a later cycle.

A few additional terms are worth knowing. This announcement is clinical trial optional, but some Institutes do not accept clinical trials, so confirm your target component accepts your study design. SBIR recipients may retain data rights for up to 20 years after the award date. Cost sharing is not required.

How Should a Startup Frame a Bioethics Project for SBIR?

This is the point most applicants miss. SBIR is a commercialization program, not a research grant program in the traditional academic sense. Reviewers score significance, investigators, innovation, approach, and environment, and for Phase II and Fast-Track they weigh a Commercialization Plan heavily. A bioethics project that reads like a scholarly study will struggle. A bioethics project framed as a product or service with a clear market, clear customers, and a clear path to revenue will compete.

The most commercializable angles in this topic are the ones that produce software, tooling, or repeatable methods. Examples include AI transparency, audit, and generalizability testing tools; privacy-preserving data infrastructure and de-identification systems; dynamic and electronic consent management platforms, including consent for wearables, EHR data, and linked datasets; community engagement platforms that make trust-building measurable; and return-of-results communication systems tailored to specific populations. If you can name the customer who would pay for your solution and explain how it solves a demonstrated need, you have the spine of a competitive application. If you cannot, the project may be better suited to a non-SBIR mechanism.

How BW&CO Helps

BW&CO helps deep-tech, health, and AI founders match their technology to the right NIH Institute, choose between the SBIR and STTR routes, structure a fundable budget within the correct ceiling, and build the commercialization narrative that NIH reviewers reward. If you are evaluating whether your product fits this bioethics topic, or which of the participating Institutes is the strongest home for your work, we can help you make that call before you invest in a full application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the NIH Bioethics Research topic a funding opportunity you can apply to directly?

No. It is a Highlighted Topic, not a Notice of Funding Opportunity. There is no separate application package or funding number. You apply through the NIH Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100, or the Parent STTR announcement PA-27-102 if you are partnering with a nonprofit research institution, and you make your project responsive to at least one participating Institute or Center.

What is the deadline to apply?

The standard NIH SBIR due dates are September 5, 2026, January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027, at 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. Because September 5, 2026 is a Saturday and September 7 is Labor Day, the effective first deadline is September 8, 2026. The Highlighted Topic remains active through January 12, 2028.

How much SBIR funding can my startup receive?

Phase I runs up to the current SBA guideline of about $323,090, with several participating Institutes offering waivers of $400,000 or $700,000. Phase II runs up to about $2,153,927 under the SBA guideline, with several Institutes offering waivers of $2.5 million or $3 million. The exact ceiling depends on which Institute your application is assigned to.

Who is eligible to apply?

United States small business concerns that are for-profit, have no more than 500 employees including affiliates, meet the ownership rules, and whose Program Director or Principal Investigator is primarily employed by the company at the time of award.

Can universities apply for this topic?

No. The award goes to the small business. A university can participate as a partner through the STTR announcement PA-27-102, or as a subaward or consultant within the SBIR work-share limits, which allow up to about one-third of the effort to third parties in Phase I and up to about one-half in Phase II.

Does my bioethics project need a commercial product?

Yes. SBIR is a commercialization program, so your project needs a product or service with commercial potential and a credible path to market. The strongest fits produce software, tooling, or repeatable methods, such as AI transparency tools, consent management platforms, or return-of-results communication systems.

Which NIH Institutes fund this topic?

Participating grant-making components include NCI, NEI, NHGRI, NHLBI, NIA, NIAAA, NIAID, NIBIB, NIDA, NIDCD, NIDCR, NIEHS, NIMH, NINDS, and NINR, along with the BRAIN Initiative. Several offices are interested but do not award grants, so applications must be assigned to a grant-making Institute or Center.

Do I need to pick an Institute before I apply?

No. NIH's Center for Scientific Review assigns your application to the most appropriate component. You may request an assignment on the PHS Assignment Request Form, and you are strongly encouraged to contact program staff at your target Institute before submitting.

How long does registration take?

Plan for six weeks or more. You need active registrations in SAM, the SBA Company Registry, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov, and each PD or PI needs an eRA Commons ID linked to an ORCID iD. Late registration is not an accepted reason for a late submission.

Can foreign companies or foreign subawards be involved?

No. Only US small business concerns are eligible, and applications that include foreign subawards or subcontracts are deemed noncompliant and will not be funded. Unfunded international collaborations, foreign consultants, and procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors may still be permitted.

NIH Connectedness Interventions SBIR Funding: A Guide for Startups

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The NIH Highlighted Topic on Interventions to Promote Health by Fostering Connectedness invites small businesses to develop and test interventions that improve health by strengthening people's connections to others, communities, culture, activities, and nature. It is part of the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Chronic Disease Initiative and its Whole-Person-Health approach. This topic is not a standalone funding announcement. Startups pursue funding through the NIH, CDC, and FDA Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 (R43/R44, Clinical Trial Optional). The topic is active from August 11, 2026 through August 11, 2028. Standard SBIR due dates fall on September 5, January 5, and April 5 of each cycle, and Phase I awards can range from roughly 400,000 dollars to 700,000 dollars depending on the funding Institute.

What Is the NIH Connectedness Interventions Highlighted Topic?

A Highlighted Topic is a signal from NIH about an area of science that its Institutes, Centers, and Offices want to fund. It tells applicants where the agency's scientific interest and money are pointed. It is not a Notice of Funding Opportunity, so there is no separate application form tied to the topic itself.

This particular topic, Interventions to Promote Health by Fostering Connectedness, encourages rigorous research that evaluates connectedness interventions to improve health or reduce risk factors for chronic disease. The scientific premise is that social isolation, loneliness, and poor mental health have risen alongside a widespread chronic disease crisis, and that stronger connections to people, culture, and activities can improve both mental and physical health. Epidemiological evidence links greater social connectedness to improved behavioral, cognitive, cardiovascular, and immune health, and to lower all-cause mortality.

The topic sits inside the Make America Healthy Again initiative and aligns with the NIH MAHA Chronic Disease Initiative, which promotes a Whole-Person-Health approach to chronic disease prevention. It also connects to current federal attention on social prescribing, the 2026 Surgeon General's Warning on the Harms of Screen Use, and the 2026 MAHA ELEVATE initiative for older Medicare recipients.

Which Funding Announcement Do I Actually Apply Through?

You apply through the NIH, CDC, and FDA Parent SBIR announcement, PA-27-100, titled the NIH, CDC and FDA Small Business Innovation Research Grant (Parent SBIR R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional). This is the application vehicle for the connectedness topic.

When you submit, you do not need to name a specific Institute, but you are encouraged to identify the Institute or Center whose mission best matches your work and to contact its program staff before applying. NIH's Center for Scientific Review assigns each application to the most appropriate participating component.

A few companion announcements matter depending on your project:

• PA-27-100 is the SBIR route (R43 Phase I, R44 Phase II), where the small business does most of the work.

• PA-27-102 is the STTR route (R41 Phase I, R42 Phase II), used when your project depends on a formal collaboration with a nonprofit research institution such as a university. Connectedness research often involves academic or clinical partners, so the STTR route is worth evaluating.

• PA-27-101 is the standalone SBIR Phase II announcement, including Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough applications.

• PAR-27-098 is the SB1 Commercialization Readiness Program.

If PA-27-100 expires before you are ready to apply, use whichever Parent SBIR announcement is active at that time. The connectedness topic remains valid through August 11, 2028, while PA-27-100 itself carries an expiration date of April 6, 2027 and is expected to be reissued.

Is My Startup Eligible?

To apply, your company must be a United States small business concern that meets all of the following at the time of a Phase I or Phase II award:

• Organized for profit with a place of business in the United States.

• No more than 500 employees, including affiliates.

• More than 50 percent directly owned and controlled by United States citizens or permanent residents, or by other qualifying United States small businesses, or majority owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms (with the condition that no single such firm owns more than 50 percent unless it independently qualifies as a United States owned small business).

For SBIR awards, the Program Director or Principal Investigator must be primarily employed by the small business at the time of award and during the project. In projects with multiple PIs, at least one must meet this employment requirement. If you take the STTR route instead, the PI may be primarily employed by either the small business or the nonprofit research partner.

Non United States entities are not eligible, and NIH will not issue awards that involve foreign subawards or subcontracts under this announcement. Unfunded international collaborations, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique supplies from foreign vendors may still be allowed.

What Registrations Do I Need, and How Long Do They Take?

Plan for registration to take six weeks or more, and start early, because a late registration is never accepted as an excuse for a missed deadline. You need active registrations in:

• System for Award Management (SAM), which includes a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

• SBA Company Registry.

• eRA Commons, with at least one Signing Official and at least one PI account.

• Grants.gov.

Each PI must have an eRA Commons ID and a linked ORCID iD. The same UEI must be used across all systems and on the application.

What Kind of Projects Is NIH Looking For?

Connectedness can take many forms, including connections with people, communities, history, traditions, hobbies, sports, the arts, or nature. Interventions may be tested as adjuncts to healthcare or as stand-alone interventions in non-medical settings.

NIH strongly encourages projects that:

• Specify a clear conceptual model that identifies the hypothesized pathways between connectedness and health outcomes.

• Use validated measures of connectedness and health outcomes wherever possible, such as those in the PhenX Toolkit.

• Address the multi-level factors that make connections possible and sustainable, for example providing transportation so urban youth can reach existing green spaces.

• Involve collaboration with organizations that can actually implement or deliver the intervention if it proves effective.

• Include a rigorous, sufficiently powered study design that accounts for the expected correlation of outcomes within clusters such as families, schools, clinics, or neighborhoods.

For a startup, the practical takeaway is that a competitive application pairs a strong commercial concept with a real conceptual model, validated measurement, a credible delivery partner, and a study design that will hold up under peer review.

Which NIH Institutes and Centers Are Funding This Topic?

Several Institutes and Centers participate, each with its own angle. Matching your intervention to the right one improves your odds. Your application must be relevant to at least one of the awarding Institutes or Centers below. Two offices, the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), signal interest but do not award grants themselves.

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): mind and body approaches that promote mental, emotional, and behavioral health, using feasibility, hybrid effectiveness-implementation, mechanistic, pragmatic, or community-based designs, including health information technology and partnerships with schools, health systems, and justice systems.

• National Cancer Institute (NCI): connectedness and cancer control outcomes, including risk behaviors, screening, treatment decision-making, symptom management, and patient and caregiver health, plus the effect of the online and social media environment on connectedness.

• National Eye Institute (NEI): the intersection of visual impairment, social isolation, and wellness, including accessibility technologies and care-delivery models for people experiencing vision loss.

• National Institute on Aging (NIA): how connectedness affects the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional health of people in midlife and older adulthood, including isolation among older adults aging in place, kinless individuals, and dementia caregivers, and the role of the built environment.

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): the role of connectedness in preventing and treating alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder across the lifespan, including screening, brief interventions, and recovery outcomes.

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): social connectedness and loneliness as levers to prevent or treat substance use disorders and support recovery, with strong emphasis on stakeholder engagement.

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): connectedness and risk for mental illness, social prescribing including digital approaches, and connectedness among people living with HIV.

• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD): community-engaged connectedness interventions that improve health and reduce risk among populations experiencing health disparities.

• National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): interventions that promote mental well-being through social, cultural, or environmental connectedness, including school-based settings and the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare settings.

How Much Funding Can My Startup Receive?

Budget ceilings vary by Institute. Phase I supports a feasibility study and normally runs up to six months. Phase II continues research and development toward commercialization and normally runs up to two years. Total funding support includes direct costs, indirect costs, and fee.

For the Institutes participating in this topic, the Phase I and Phase II guidelines are:

• National Cancer Institute: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II up to 2,500,000 dollars.

• National Institute on Aging: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II up to 3,000,000 dollars.

• National Institute of Mental Health: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II up to 3,000,000 dollars.

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Phase I up to 700,000 dollars, Phase II follows the SBA guideline.

• National Institute on Drug Abuse: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II up to 3,000,000 dollars.

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II up to 2,500,000 dollars.

• National Institute of Nursing Research: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II up to 2,500,000 dollars.

• National Eye Institute: Phase I up to 400,000 dollars, Phase II follows the SBA guideline.

• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities: both phases follow the SBA guideline.

Where an Institute follows the SBA guideline, the ceiling is the standard SBA hard cap, which the Small Business Administration adjusts annually, so confirm the current figure before you budget. In all cases, propose a budget that is reasonable for the work. If you need to request more than the SBA guideline, contact the relevant Institute early, since some Institutes can exceed standard amounts for approved topics.

What Is the Timeline and What Are the Deadlines?

PA-27-100 was posted on May 28, 2026, with an earliest submission date of August 5, 2026. The standard application due dates are:

• September 5, 2026, with scientific merit review around November 2026, advisory council review around January 2027, and earliest start around April 2027.

• January 5, 2027, with review around March 2027, council around May 2027, and earliest start around July 2027.

• April 5, 2027, with review around July 2027, council around August 2027, and earliest start around December 2027.

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. When a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. No late applications are accepted.

Two expiration dates matter. The Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 expires April 6, 2027, and the connectedness Highlighted Topic expires August 11, 2028. If you apply after PA-27-100 expires, use the active Parent SBIR announcement at that time and align your project with the connectedness topic while it remains open.

What Are the SBIR Phases, and Which One Fits My Startup?

• Phase I establishes the technical merit and feasibility of your idea. It is the entry point for most companies.

• Phase II continues research and development to advance toward commercialization, and is submitted as a renewal of your Phase I project.

• Direct to Phase II (NIH only) is available if you have already demonstrated feasibility but never held a Phase I SBIR or STTR for that project.

• Fast-Track (NIH only) lets you submit and review Phase I and Phase II together to reduce the funding gap between them.

After Phase II, NIH expects you to fully commercialize the product using non-SBIR and non-STTR funds, whether federal or private.

How Is the Research Effort Split Between My Company and Partners?

In Phase I, the small business normally performs at least two-thirds (67 percent) of the research or analytical effort, and outside consultants and contracts generally account for no more than 33 percent of the total. In Phase II, the small business normally performs at least half (50 percent), with outside arrangements generally capped at 50 percent. Deviations can be considered case by case with written approval. If a formal university or nonprofit collaboration is central to your project, the STTR route under PA-27-102 may fit better.

Do Clinical Trials Fit This Topic?

PA-27-100 is Clinical Trial Optional, meaning it accepts applications that do or do not propose clinical trials. Many connectedness interventions will involve a clinical trial. The Institutes participating in this topic accept clinical trials, so a well-designed trial is on the table. If you propose one, you must include a two-page Regulatory Plan attachment, and you may not submit that attachment if your project does not include a clinical trial.

What Do Reviewers Evaluate?

Peer reviewers score five criteria and combine them into an overall impact score:

• Significance: does the product or service address an important problem or unmet need, and does it have commercial potential.

• Investigators: are the team and any partners suited to complete and eventually commercialize the work.

• Innovation: does the solution shift current practice and hold a real competitive advantage.

• Approach: are the aims, methods, milestones, and study design sound and appropriate for the stage.

• Environment: does the business and scientific environment support success and commercialization.

For Phase II and Fast-Track applications, reviewers also weigh a Commercialization Plan covering the market opportunity, barriers such as regulatory approval and reimbursement, a funding path, the management team, and how the project differs from or complements existing private-sector activity.

What Restrictions Should I Know About?

• Foreign entities are not eligible, and foreign subawards or subcontracts make an application non-compliant under this announcement.

• Applicants under consideration for award must complete foreign relationship disclosures during the Just-in-Time process, and awards can be denied for defined national security risks with no opportunity to cure before award.

• Applications may not simultaneously duplicate the same research focus across multiple HHS opportunities.

• SBIR recipients may retain rights to data generated under the award for up to 20 years.

How BW&CO Helps

BW&CO helps deep-tech and health-focused founders decide whether the SBIR or STTR route fits, identify the right Institute and program contact, sharpen the conceptual model and study design that reviewers reward, and build a Commercialization Plan that holds up under scrutiny. If you are weighing a connectedness intervention against the September or January cycle, the earlier we start, the more room you have to register, refine, and position the application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the connectedness Highlighted Topic a grant I can apply to directly? No. It is a statement of NIH scientific interest, not a Notice of Funding Opportunity. You apply through the Parent SBIR announcement PA-27-100 and align your project with the topic.

What is the funding announcement number I should use? PA-27-100 for SBIR, or PA-27-102 for STTR if your project depends on a formal nonprofit or university collaboration.

When are applications due? Standard due dates are September 5, 2026, January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027, all by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.

How much money can a startup receive? Phase I generally ranges from 400,000 dollars to 700,000 dollars and Phase II from about 2,500,000 dollars to 3,000,000 dollars, depending on the funding Institute. Some Institutes follow the standard SBA hard cap, which adjusts annually.

Who is eligible? United States small business concerns with 500 or fewer employees that meet the ownership rules, with a PI primarily employed by the small business for SBIR awards.

Which Institutes fund this topic? NCCIH, NCI, NEI, NIA, NIAAA, NIDA, NIMH, NIMHD, and NINR award grants for this topic. ODP and OBSSR signal interest but do not award grants.

Can I propose a clinical trial? Yes. PA-27-100 is Clinical Trial Optional, and the participating Institutes accept clinical trials. Clinical trial applications must include a Regulatory Plan attachment.

How long do registrations take? Six weeks or more. Complete SAM, UEI, SBA Company Registry, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov well ahead of your target due date.

What is the difference between SBIR and STTR here? SBIR (PA-27-100) requires the small business to perform most of the work. STTR (PA-27-102) is built around a formal collaboration with a nonprofit research institution and allows the PI to be employed by either the company or the partner.

How long is the topic open? The Highlighted Topic is active from August 11, 2026 through August 11, 2028. Apply through whichever Parent SBIR announcement is active at your time of submission.

NIH SBIR Funding for Time-Sensitive Environmental Health and Disaster Research: What Startups Need to Know

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

NIH has flagged time-sensitive environmental health research as a current priority through a Highlighted Topic titled "Time-Sensitive Research Opportunities in Environmental Health Sciences" (posted August 10, 2026, active through August 10, 2028). This topic is not itself a funding opportunity, so small businesses cannot apply to it directly. Instead, a U.S. small business applies through the NIH Parent SBIR announcement, PA-27-100, and writes its research aims to match what the topic describes: capturing exposure and health data during the narrow window that follows a disaster or an emerging environmental threat. The next Parent SBIR deadline is September 5, 2026, which falls on a Saturday ahead of Labor Day and therefore moves to Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Phase I awards run up to roughly $323,090 and Phase II awards up to roughly $2,153,927 under current SBA guidelines, with several participating institutes offering higher caps.

What is the "Time-Sensitive Research Opportunities in Environmental Health Sciences" topic?

It is an NIH Highlighted Topic, which is a signal from a group of NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices that they want to receive applications in a specific area of science. It is not a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and it does not have its own application package, budget, or deadline. NIH is explicit on this point: applicants pursue the topic by applying through an appropriate NIH Parent Funding Announcement or another broad opportunity on Grants.gov.

The topic exists because disasters and emerging environmental threats create a short, often unpredictable window in which exposure and health data can be collected. Once that window closes, the scientific value is lost. NIH wants research that moves fast enough to capture that information and that lays the groundwork for later, longer-term analysis of how those exposures affect health. A strong application makes two things obvious: that the triggering event was genuinely unforeseen, and that the proposed study is both scientifically valuable and feasible inside that limited window.

For a small business, the practical takeaway is simple. If your technology or study can capture exposure, biospecimen, or health data quickly after a natural or human-made disaster, or in response to an emerging environmental public health threat inside the United States, this topic tells you that three parts of NIH are actively looking for that work right now. You reach them through the Parent SBIR.

How does a startup actually apply for this?

You apply through the NIH, CDC, and FDA Parent SBIR announcement, PA-27-100 ("Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Optional"). This is the vehicle that turns the Highlighted Topic into a fundable application for a for-profit small business.

The workflow looks like this. You confirm your company is an eligible U.S. small business concern, you register in the required federal systems, you build your Phase I feasibility study (or a Direct to Phase II or Fast-Track application) around the time-sensitive environmental health science described in the topic, and you submit through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system solution. In your application you signal fit with the topic and, where useful, name the most appropriate Institute on the assignment request form. NIH's Center for Scientific Review then assigns your application to the best-fit participating component.

If your project depends on a formal partnership with a university or other nonprofit research institution, the companion STTR announcement, PA-27-102, is the better route. Both SBIR and STTR make the award to the small business. Note also that the Highlighted Topic stays open until August 10, 2028, while PA-27-100 itself expires April 6, 2027, so applicants submitting after that date should apply through whatever reissued Parent SBIR announcement is current at that time.

What kind of research is NIH looking for?

Three parts of NIH are participating in this topic, and each brings a distinct angle. Reading their interests closely is the difference between a fundable application and a near miss.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is the anchor. NIEHS wants studies that clarify the relationship between environmental exposure and health outcomes. That includes the immediate and short-term health effects that follow a disaster, methods for measuring and characterizing human exposure to environmental hazards, work that helps understand how contaminants move and predict where exposure will occur, and approaches to preventing or reducing exposure during a disaster event, including remediation technologies relevant to Superfund-type contamination. NIEHS specifically encourages exploratory and developmental work with clear time-sensitivity, and it will treat studies that use animals as stand-ins for human exposure as lower priority. Its Superfund Research Program is interested where the work applies to hazardous waste sites. Its Workers Training Program is not part of this topic. Scientific contact: Toccara Chamberlain, M.A., toccara.chamberlain@nih.gov.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is interested in the same time-sensitive framing but focused on older adults, whose bodies are less able to absorb the stress of a disaster and who often depend on medication, caregivers, and health services that a disaster can disrupt. NIA wants early exposure and health data captured in older populations, including people in assisted living, nursing homes, rural areas, and other at-risk settings, to understand effects on functional status, cognition, cardiometabolic health, mobility, resilience, and progression toward Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Applications should point toward modifiable risk and protective factors that can inform prevention, preparedness, and recovery. Scientific contacts: Richard Kwok, PhD, richard.kwok@nih.gov, and Emerald Nguyen, PhD, emerald.nguyen@nih.gov.

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) focuses on how these unexpected events uniquely affect the health of women and girls. ORWH prioritizes rapid data and biospecimen collection that captures women's distinct health risks, including chronic disease management, reproductive and maternal health, and mental health, with attention to differences across life stages and to gaps in disaster preparedness for women with limited resources. One important detail: ORWH does not award grants directly, so any application it co-funds must still be relevant to the mission of at least one of the awarding Institutes or Centers in the topic. Scientific contact: Regine A. Douthard, M.D., M.P.H, orwhinfo@mail.nih.gov.

Across all three, the common thread is speed with scientific purpose. Reviewers and program staff want to see that the event was genuinely unforeseen, that the collection window is real, that the study is feasible inside it, and that the short-term data will feed longer-term understanding of exposure and health.

Who is eligible to apply?

Only a United States small business concern (SBC) can apply. To qualify, your company must be organized for profit with a place of business in the United States, and it must operate primarily in the U.S. or make a significant contribution to the U.S. economy. It must have no more than 500 employees, including affiliates. Ownership must meet one of two tests: either more than 50 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents (directly, or through other qualifying U.S.-owned businesses), or more than 50 percent owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms, with no single such firm owning more than 50 percent.

For an SBIR award, the Program Director or Principal Investigator must have their primary employment with the small business at the time of award and throughout the project. Foreign organizations and foreign components of U.S. organizations cannot apply, and NIH will not make awards under this announcement that involve foreign subawards or subcontracts. Companies also need to be aware of the foreign-risk and security screening that applies before award, including required disclosure of foreign affiliations for owners and covered individuals.

How much funding is available?

The dollar amount depends on which Institute your application is assigned to. The current SBA total-cost guidelines, which set the ceiling agencies can award without a waiver, are Phase I up to $323,090 and Phase II up to $2,153,927 as of April 2026. NIEHS, the lead Institute for this topic, uses those SBA guideline amounts for both phases, so an environmental exposure study routed to NIEHS would generally target up to about $323,090 for Phase I and up to about $2,153,927 for Phase II.

If your project skews toward aging and is assigned to NIA, the caps are higher: up to $700,000 for Phase I and up to $3,000,000 for Phase II. For applications ORWH co-funds, the Phase II reference is $2,500,000, though ORWH itself does not make the award. These are guideline amounts, and NIH may exceed them for approved waiver topics. If you plan to request more than the SBA guideline, NIH strongly encourages you to contact the relevant Institute early. No cost sharing is required, and SBIR does not take equity.

There is one work-share rule that startups sometimes overlook and that shapes the budget. In Phase I, the small business normally performs at least two-thirds (about 67 percent) of the research or analytical effort, so consultants and subcontractors together are generally capped near 33 percent. In Phase II, the small business normally performs at least half (50 percent), so outside effort is generally capped near 50 percent. Deviations are possible but must be approved in writing.

What is the timeline and what are the deadlines?

The Parent SBIR (PA-27-100) was posted May 28, 2026, opened for submission on August 5, 2026, and carries three standard due dates before it expires on April 6, 2027:

• September 5, 2026, for the first cycle. Because September 5 is a Saturday and Labor Day falls on Monday, September 7, NIH's weekend and holiday policy moves the effective deadline to Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Confirm the displayed date in ASSIST or Grants.gov before you submit.

• January 5, 2027, for the second cycle.

• April 5, 2027, for the third cycle.

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization, and NIH does not accept late applications. After submission, an application moves through scientific merit review, then Advisory Council review, then the earliest possible start date. For the September 2026 cycle, that path runs through review in November 2026, Council in January 2027, and an earliest start around April 2027. The later cycles follow the same rhythm a few months out.

Because registration in SAM.gov, eRA Commons, Grants.gov, and the SBA Company Registry can take six weeks or longer, the practical deadline for a first-time applicant is well before the submission date. Start the registrations now if you have not.

What are the funding phases?

Phase I establishes technical merit and feasibility and normally runs up to six months. Phase II continues the research and development toward commercialization and normally runs up to two years. NIH also offers two accelerated paths that other agencies do not. Direct to Phase II lets a company that has already demonstrated feasibility, without ever holding a Phase I SBIR or STTR for that project, apply straight into Phase II. Fast-Track lets you submit and review Phase I and Phase II together to reduce the funding gap between them. After Phase II, NIH expects the company to commercialize using non-SBIR funds, whether private capital, sales, licensing, or other federal sources.

Is this a good fit for my company?

This topic is a strong fit if your company works on environmental exposure measurement, sensing, remediation, biomonitoring, rapid data or biospecimen collection, or health surveillance tied to disasters and emerging environmental threats, and if you can credibly move fast enough to capture data inside the event window. It fits especially well for teams building tools or study capabilities relevant to older adults or to the distinct health needs of women and girls, given NIA's and ORWH's participation. It is a weaker fit if your work has no time-sensitive collection element, relies mainly on animal surrogates for human exposure, or cannot meet the small business and PI employment rules. If you are unsure which Institute fits or whether SBIR or STTR is the right route, that is exactly the kind of question worth resolving before you write a single specific aim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply directly to the environmental health Highlighted Topic?
No. It is not a funding opportunity and has no application package. You apply through the NIH Parent SBIR announcement, PA-27-100, and align your research aims with the topic so it routes to NIEHS, NIA, or ORWH.

What is the next deadline?
The next Parent SBIR standard due date is September 5, 2026. That date is a Saturday just before Labor Day, so under NIH policy the effective deadline moves to Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The following cycles are January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027.

How much money can a startup receive?
Under current SBA guidelines, Phase I runs up to about $323,090 and Phase II up to about $2,153,927. NIEHS uses those guideline amounts. NIA offers higher caps of up to $700,000 for Phase I and up to $3,000,000 for Phase II. The exact ceiling depends on the Institute your application is assigned to.

Who is eligible?
A U.S. small business concern with no more than 500 employees, organized for profit, and meeting NIH's ownership tests. For SBIR, the Principal Investigator's primary employment must be with the small business.

Do I need a university partner?
Not for SBIR. If your project depends on a formal collaboration with a university or nonprofit research institution, use the companion STTR announcement, PA-27-102, instead. In both programs the award goes to the small business.

What kind of research does NIH want here?
Time-sensitive studies that capture exposure and health data during the short window after a natural or human-made disaster or an emerging environmental threat in the United States, including short-term health effects, exposure measurement, contaminant movement, remediation, effects on older adults, and effects on women and girls.

Is the SBIR program still funded?
Yes. The SBIR and STTR programs were reauthorized in April 2026 and are currently authorized through September 30, 2031.

How long does it take to get funded?
Plan on several months from submission to award. For the September 2026 cycle, scientific review is expected in November 2026, Council review in January 2027, and the earliest start date around April 2027.

What if I miss the September deadline?
The Parent SBIR has additional standard due dates on January 5, 2027, and April 5, 2027. The Highlighted Topic itself stays active through August 10, 2028, so the priority persists across cycles, though the specific Parent SBIR announcement is reissued periodically.

ERDC Broad Agency Announcement (W912HZ26S0001): The Complete Guide for Startups and Small Businesses

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Broad Agency Announcement, solicitation number W912HZ26S0001, is a continuously open funding pathway that lets startups, small businesses, universities, and nonprofits propose basic and applied research across seven ERDC laboratories. It covers a wide range of technical areas including AI and machine learning, cybersecurity, high performance computing, advanced manufacturing, sensing and instrumentation, autonomous systems, materials and structures, infrastructure, environmental technologies, and geospatial technologies. There is no fixed submission deadline and no set per-award dollar ceiling. You start with a short five-page pre-proposal, and ERDC responds within 60 days on whether to invite a full proposal. Awards can take the form of a procurement contract, a grant, or a cooperative agreement.

What is the ERDC Broad Agency Announcement?

The ERDC Broad Agency Announcement is a standing solicitation issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center under the authority of FAR 35.016. A Broad Agency Announcement, or BAA, is a mechanism the government uses to solicit proposals for basic and applied research, and for that part of development not tied to a specific system or hardware procurement. In plain terms, ERDC is inviting outside organizations to bring forward research ideas that advance the state of the art or increase scientific and technical knowledge in the areas ERDC cares about.

To be eligible for award, your proposed work needs to fall into one of these categories: basic research, applied research, advanced technology development not tied to a specific system or hardware, or demonstration and validation. Work aimed at building a specific product or piece of hardware for direct government use generally does not fit the BAA and would belong on a different acquisition pathway.

This is a science and research vehicle, not a services or product procurement, and understanding that distinction is the single most important thing to get right before you invest time in a submission.

Who is the ERDC BAA for?

ERDC explicitly encourages small business participation. The solicitation specifically invites small business concerns, women-owned small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone small businesses, firms in the SBA 8(a) program, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to submit research proposals. It also encourages proposals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions.

In practice the applicant pool skews roughly half universities and half small businesses. Some research areas lean toward earlier-stage work that naturally draws academic teams, but there is substantial room for commercial small businesses, especially those with genuine research and development depth and a technology that maps cleanly to an ERDC mission area.

Federal facilities and organizations cannot compete. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers and other government entities face direct competition limitations and must clear a high bar to be eligible, with the burden of proving eligibility resting entirely on them.

If your company is doing real R&D in a field ERDC works in, you are very likely in the intended audience.

What research areas does the ERDC BAA cover?

ERDC organizes its research interests across seven laboratories, each with its own set of numbered topic areas. When you submit, you reference the specific topic number, for example CHL-1, CRREL-10, or CERL-15.

Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) covers coastal and inland hydraulics, hydrodynamics, sediment transport, dredging, navigation channels, groundwater, hydrology, coastal structures, nature-based coastal resilience, and marine transportation technologies.

Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) covers soil and rock mechanics, pavements, vehicle mobility, earthquake engineering, geophysics, protective and survivable structures, concrete and construction materials, projectile penetration, bridge and railroad technology, computational structural mechanics, and advanced maneuver technologies.

Environmental Laboratory (EL) covers environmental sensing, hazardous waste characterization and treatment, water quality and contaminant modeling, emerging contaminants, dredged material management, wetlands and ecological restoration, invasive and endangered species management, systems biology and bioinformatics, ecological modeling, and decision analysis.

Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) covers computational science and engineering, software engineering and informatics, high performance computing, cybersecurity, high performance data analytics, additive manufacturing enabled by HPC, artificial intelligence and machine learning for materials discovery, and edge computing.

Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) covers additive construction, critical infrastructure protection, innovative construction materials, energy efficiency and energy security, water resilience, autonomous robotic solutions for engineer operations, geopolymers, fiber reinforced polymers, structural health monitoring, and installation infrastructure management.

Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) covers signature physics, terrestrial and cryospheric science, biogeochemical processes, environmental fate and transport, force projection and sustainment, cold regions infrastructure, geospatial water resources applications, and hydrology and hydraulics.

Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) covers photon-counting LIDAR, photogrammetry, intelligent spatiotemporal analytics, assured position, navigation and timing in GPS-denied environments, advanced terrain analytics, and cyber geospatial science.

Across all seven labs there are well over one hundred specific topic areas, so the practical first step is identifying which single topic your technology best fits.

How much funding can you get through the ERDC BAA?

The ERDC BAA does not publish a fixed per-award dollar ceiling. This is a meaningful difference from SBIR and STTR, which cap awards at set phase amounts. Under the BAA, the size of an award is scoped to the proposed effort and is constrained by the funding ERDC has available for that research area at the time.

There are two dollar thresholds worth knowing. First, for proposed awards exceeding $900,000, large businesses and nonprofits (including educational institutions) must submit a formal small business subcontracting plan. Small businesses are exempt from that requirement. Second, when the proposed value exceeds $100,000, an SF-LLL disclosure of lobbying activities is required.

The type of award affects fee. Procurement contracts can include a proposed fee or profit. Grants and cooperative agreements do not allow any fee or profit. Cost realism and the availability of funds are part of how proposals are evaluated, so your budget needs to be detailed, defensible, and proportionate to the work.

What is the ERDC BAA timeline and deadline?

There is no single deadline. This BAA is open on a rolling basis and remains in effect until it is superseded by a newer edition. The current edition is dated April 2026 and supersedes all previous editions. You can submit a pre-proposal at any time.

After you submit a pre-proposal, ERDC will respond within 60 days of receipt. The response either encourages you to submit a full proposal or advises you that the pre-proposal did not receive a favorable review. Pre-proposals that lack sufficient scientific merit, that are not relevant to Army needs, or that fall in areas where funds are not expected to be available may be declined.

If you are proposing support for a conference or symposium rather than research, that proposal should be submitted at least six months before the event.

The rolling nature is an advantage. You are not racing a fixed clock, and you can time your submission around your own readiness and around informal conversations with ERDC about fit.

How do you apply to the ERDC BAA?

The process has two stages: a pre-proposal first, then a full proposal by invitation only.

Before you submit anything, your organization must be registered and active in the System for Award Management at sam.gov. This is a prerequisite, and it can take time, so start it early if you are not already registered.

Stage one is the pre-proposal, which ERDC treats as a white paper. Every initial submission under this BAA is considered a pre-proposal. You submit it electronically through the ERDCWERX portal at erdcwerx.org. ERDC reviews it and, if the concept is promising, invites a full proposal.

Stage two is the full proposal, which you only prepare after receiving an invitation directly from the ERDC Contracting Office. Full proposals are submitted by email to the specific laboratory your topic falls under, using the contact and address provided in your invitation. Proposals should never be sent directly to technical or lab personnel.

What goes in an ERDC BAA pre-proposal?

The pre-proposal has a firm five-page limit, and it may only be submitted under one specific topic area. It must reference the topic number for that research area. The pre-proposal should include a descriptive title, the submitting organization's name and address including email, the principal investigator's name and phone number, the project duration, a statement of objectives or the working hypothesis, one or more paragraphs on the technical approach, one or more paragraphs on the potential military or civil payoffs to the Corps of Engineers, and a one-page curriculum vitae for the principal investigator.

Separately, you include a one-page executive summary that describes the background, scope of work, deliverables, and total proposed price. No cost breakdown is required in this summary, and the summary must not contain any sensitive or proprietary data. Importantly, this one-page executive summary does not count against the five-page limit.

If you intend to seek a grant or cooperative agreement rather than a contract, you also describe how the research supports or stimulates a public purpose.

What goes in an ERDC BAA full proposal?

A full proposal has a technical portion and a cost portion.

The technical portion covers the background and objectives, the technical approach, the proposed level of effort, and the anticipated results and deliverables. It includes a recommended Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, biographical information and recent publications for key personnel, the names of any other agencies you have submitted the same proposal to, a description of your organization, and past performance information for at least three customers you have performed similar work for in the last three years. You also include a revised one-page executive summary. If you are pursuing a grant or cooperative agreement, you add a data management plan.

The cost portion is a detailed cost estimate broken out by element of cost and by task. It covers direct labor by discipline, fringe benefits, itemized equipment, expendable supplies, travel, subcontracts, other direct costs, and indirect cost rates and bases. Proposals should also address expected use of DoD High Performance Computing Center systems where relevant.

How are ERDC BAA proposals evaluated?

Pre-proposals get an initial technical review against three factors: the overall scientific and technical merit, the potential contribution to the ERDC mission, and available funding.

Full proposals go through scientific peer review against a broader set of criteria. Scientific and technical merit is the most important factor. The remaining factors are of equal importance to one another and, when combined, are significantly more important than cost. Those factors are the contribution to the ERDC and DoD mission, the offeror's capabilities and facilities, the qualifications of the principal investigator and key personnel, the reasonableness and realism of proposed costs along with the availability of funds, past performance, and a subcontracting plan where one is required.

A useful takeaway: this is a merit-driven, science-first evaluation, not a lowest-price competition. A strong technical concept from a credible team carries the most weight.

What types of awards can result from the ERDC BAA?

The BAA lets you propose one of three instruments, though the final instrument can change through negotiation based on the nature of the work.

A procurement contract is used when the principal purpose is to acquire research services for the direct benefit of the government. Contracts can be cost-reimbursable, which suits research where direction may shift as results come in, or fixed-price, which suits well-defined efforts with predictable costs. Contracts can include a fee.

A grant is used when the principal purpose is to transfer value to support or stimulate a public purpose, with no substantial government involvement expected and no fee or profit allowed.

A cooperative agreement is similar to a grant but anticipates substantial involvement between the government and the recipient, and it also allows no fee or profit.

How is the ERDC BAA different from SBIR and STTR?

If you have looked at SBIR or STTR, the ERDC BAA will feel both familiar and different. Both are non-dilutive federal funding, but the BAA is continuously open rather than tied to solicitation cycles, it has no phase-based dollar caps, and it is evaluated as basic and applied research rather than as a commercialization-staged program. It rewards genuine research depth and a clear tie to an ERDC mission area. For many deep-tech companies, the two pathways are complementary, and the right move is to map your technology against both.

How BW&CO helps you pursue the ERDC BAA

BW&CO works with deep-tech, defense, and dual-use founders to identify the right non-dilutive funding pathways and to build competitive submissions. For the ERDC BAA that means pinpointing the single best-fit topic area across the seven laboratories, pressure-testing whether your work reads as fundable research rather than product development, shaping the pre-proposal and executive summary, and preparing you for the full proposal stage if you are invited. If the ERDC BAA looks like a potential fit for your technology, contact BW&CO to talk through it.

FAQ SECTION WITH SCHEMA

Is the ERDC BAA open to small businesses and startups?
Yes. ERDC explicitly encourages small businesses, women-owned small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone firms, 8(a) participants, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to submit research proposals. The applicant pool is roughly half small businesses and half universities.

Is there a deadline for the ERDC BAA?
No. The BAA is continuously open and remains in effect until superseded. The current edition is dated April 2026. You can submit a pre-proposal at any time, and ERDC responds within 60 days.

How much money can you receive through the ERDC BAA?
There is no published per-award dollar ceiling. Award size is scoped to the proposed research effort and depends on available funding. Awards above $900,000 require a subcontracting plan from large businesses and nonprofits, while small businesses are exempt.

What is the ERDC BAA solicitation number?
The solicitation number is W912HZ26S0001.

How do you apply to the ERDC BAA?
You must be registered and active in SAM at sam.gov, then submit a five-page pre-proposal electronically through erdcwerx.org under one specific topic area. If ERDC invites you, you submit a full proposal to the relevant laboratory by email.

How long can an ERDC BAA pre-proposal be?
The pre-proposal is limited to five pages under a single topic area, plus a separate one-page executive summary that does not count against the five-page limit.

What types of awards can the ERDC BAA result in?
A procurement contract, a grant, or a cooperative agreement. Grants and cooperative agreements do not allow fee or profit, while procurement contracts can include a fee.

How are ERDC BAA proposals scored?
Scientific and technical merit is the most important factor, followed by mission contribution, offeror capabilities, personnel qualifications, cost realism and fund availability, and past performance. All non-cost factors combined outweigh cost.

ERDC BOTAA 25-01: The Army's Continuously Open Prototype Funding Path for Deep-Tech Startups

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

ERDC BOTAA 25-01 is a Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement issued in October 2024 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). It uses Other Transaction (OT) authority under 10 U.S.C. 4022 to fund prototype projects in two broad domains: Military Engineering and Engineered Resilient Systems. It is continuously open, meaning there is no fixed deadline. Companies submit a short white paper (three pages or less) against any focus area through ERDCWERX, and the government typically responds with a selection decision within 60 to 90 days. Selected companies may be invited to pitch, demonstrate, or submit a full proposal through a Request for Prototype Proposal. There is no published dollar ceiling, and successful prototypes can lead directly to a noncompetitive follow-on production award. This mechanism is especially attractive to nontraditional defense contractors and small businesses, because it sits outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation and moves faster than a traditional contract.

What Is ERDC BOTAA 25-01?

ERDC BOTAA 25-01 is the current Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center. ERDC is the Army's premier engineering and environmental sciences research organization and is an integral component of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The BOTAA is the standing vehicle ERDC uses to solicit prototype concept white papers from industry and academia, review them, and fund the ones that address a real government capability gap.

Unlike a traditional grant or contract solicitation with a hard due date, this announcement is open on a rolling basis. A company can submit whenever it has a concept that fits, and the government evaluates each white paper on its own merit against the criteria in the announcement, not against other submissions. All white papers are submitted electronically through ERDCWERX, the innovation hub that administers the announcement, at the ERDC BOTAA page on erdcwerx.org.

What Is a BOTAA and Why Does It Matter for Startups?

A BOTAA is a Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement. It relies on Other Transaction authority, a flexible acquisition tool Congress gave the Department of Defense under 10 U.S.C. 4022 specifically to fund prototype projects. The key thing for a startup to understand is that Other Transactions are generally not subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) or its supplements. That means the terms are negotiated between the company and the government rather than dictated by the full weight of federal procurement law, which usually translates into a faster and more collaborative path than a standard contract.

Other Transactions were designed to bring in companies that do not normally work with the Department of Defense. The technology can be a proof of concept, a model or process, a novel application of commercial technology for defense purposes, an agile development effort, or a demonstration of operational utility. If your company is building something with a plausible defense application in engineering, computing, sensing, materials, or infrastructure, a BOTAA is often the lowest-friction way to get in front of a government customer.

What Is ERDC Looking For? The Two Focus Areas in Detail

ERDC BOTAA 25-01 solicits prototype concepts across two business areas. Each contains several focus areas, and a company may submit against any of them.

Military Engineering (ME)

The Military Engineering business area is about giving the warfighter technologies and capabilities that enable force protection and maneuver. It contains ten focus areas:

Protective Structures and Systems. Technologies, materials, and processes that reduce manpower, logistics, or equipment hours while improving the survivability of individuals, small units, fighting positions, semi-fixed assets, outposts, and contingency bases. This includes planning tools and tactics that speed up force protection setup, reuse, and retrograde, as well as capabilities for overwatch, perimeter, port, and border security, surveillance, and warning.

Protection and Survivability. Unit-level and system-level technologies that detect, disable, survive, or defeat enemy weapon systems and characterize the threat they pose. This covers infrastructure hardening and retrofit, camouflage, reducing detectability and vulnerability, recoverability, and protection of personnel, critical assets, and facilities against conventional, unconventional, and advanced threats.

Geophysical Sensors and Data Fusion. Sensors, sensor systems, and unmanned systems that detect, assess, and persistently monitor threats and critical infrastructure across urban, subterranean, and complex terrain. The goal is automated fusion that builds an in-depth Common Operating Picture for surface and subsurface movement, maneuver, and force protection planning.

Vulnerability Assessment, Detection, and Analytics. Technology and processes that support strategic, operational, and tactical analysis of anti-terrorism and force protection posture, and of population and infrastructure disruption from combat, humanitarian, and disaster situations. Prototypes support assessment of mission assurance, population vulnerability, and resilience.

Geoscience, Environmental, Geospatial, and Material Modeling and Simulation. Computational methods and materials-by-design capabilities that predict system performance, environmental impact on sensors, structural response to weapons effects, and level of protection. This includes simulating detection of above-ground, below-ground, and maritime avenues of approach.

Enhance and Assess Mobility of Manned and Unmanned Systems. Technologies that accelerate platform development, integrate autonomous systems, and improve mobility across complex terrain. This covers obstacle and gap crossing, vehicle and soil interaction, mobility hazard detection, and modeling and simulation tools that predict ground vehicle and watercraft performance in varied weather and terrain.

Engineering and Engineering Enabling Technologies. A broad category covering combat engineering, mobility and counter-mobility, explosive effects, breaching, materials, manufacturing and process technologies, modeling and simulation, virtual prototyping, operational energy, autonomous systems, prime power, and engineer-related environmental technologies.

Global Access Engineering. Technologies, materials, and planning tools for technical reconnaissance, construction, maintenance, repair, and upgrade of infrastructure critical to force projection and theater access. This includes remote sensing and field methods for assessing soils, ice and snow, pavements, matting, terrain, bathymetry, river currents, port depths, airfields, roads, rail, and bridges.

Infrastructure Maintenance, Repair, and Reconstruction Technologies. Materials and equipment that rapidly assess, repair, and reconstruct pavements, bridges, railways, ports, and airfields. Prototypes include physics-based tools for measuring layer thickness and strength, rail and pier capacity, and bridge structural capacity, plus new repair equipment and field kits.

Engineering Analysis Tools and Decision Aid Prototype Software. Software that integrates advanced engineering algorithms for evaluating, designing, repairing, and operating critical infrastructure in support of force projection and maneuver planning.

Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS)

The Engineered Resilient Systems business area combines advanced engineering with high-performance computing to amplify the design options examined early in the acquisition process. It contains seven focus areas:

Cybersecurity. Techniques, software, hardware, and tools that protect critical infrastructure and advanced manufacturing control systems, including industrial control systems, SCADA systems, programmable logic controllers, and networks, against adaptive cyber adversaries. ERDC is interested in networked, host-based, and behavior-based approaches that deliver holistic defense and cyber situational awareness.

High Performance Computing Enabled Advanced Manufacturing. Tools and systems that support advanced manufacturing, including 3-D printing, and that bring HPC resources to the point of manufacture. Areas of interest include multi-physics and multi-scale approaches, optimization, trade-space analytics, uncertainty quantification, data-driven and machine learning methods, virtual testing, AI-enabled certification, and the ability to design, fabricate, and test large-scale components more than a meter in length for uses such as armor, aerospace and marine substructures, blast and ballistic protection, and rotorcraft components.

High Performance Data Analytics. Techniques and tools that examine data sets too large or complex for traditional processing to uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and multidimensional trends, using HPC, heterogeneous computing, and next-generation algorithms.

System Engineering Techniques. Advanced system engineering methods that address acquisition and readiness challenges through design trade-space development, analysis of many candidate designs, and condition-based maintenance driven by sensor and maintenance data, often using artificial intelligence and machine learning at massive data volume.

HPC Enabled Development of Surrogate Models and Data Analytics. Computationally efficient and accurate surrogate models for full-order systems, with application areas including blast effects, flight envelope simulation, turbulent rotor dynamics, fluid-structure-thermal interaction, and physics-informed machine learning.

Leveraging HPC Capabilities for On-the-Edge Computing. Tools that deliver high-performance computing at the point of need to improve soldier situational awareness, including electro-optical, thermal, radar, and acoustic sensor data processing, terrain characterization and mapping, sensor fusion, anomaly detection, and local maneuver planning.

Computational Material Testing and Validation. Computational processes for testing and validating components produced through advanced manufacturing, connecting standard manufacturing procedures to engineering mechanics simulation and reducing uncertainty in additively manufactured parts.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

ERDC awards Other Transactions to nontraditional defense contractors, traditional defense contractors, and nonprofit research institutions. To actually receive an award, at least one of the following conditions must be met:

There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project, or

All significant participants in the transaction other than the federal government are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors, or

At least one-third of the total cost of the prototype project is paid out of funds provided by parties other than the federal government.

A nontraditional defense contractor is an entity that has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the announcement, any DoD contract or subcontract subject to full coverage under the Cost Accounting Standards. Most commercial technology companies and venture-backed startups qualify as nontraditional, which is exactly why this vehicle fits them so well. A nontraditional partner can sit at the prime level, as a team member, as a subcontractor, or as a lower-tier vendor, as long as it is a key participant supplying a meaningful technology, doing a significant share of the work, or materially improving cost, schedule, or performance.

Prospective awardees must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before award, so companies that are not yet registered should start that process early. Work under any resulting agreement is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), and each offeror is responsible for compliance.

How Much Funding Is Available?

This is one of the most important differences between a BOTAA and a program like SBIR. There is no published dollar ceiling for ERDC BOTAA 25-01. Funding is scoped to the prototype concept itself.

At the white paper stage, a company provides a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) price, which is an estimate of what the prototype would cost, along with any anticipated cost share. The government evaluates whether that ROM is commensurate with the proposed solution. If the concept advances to a full proposal, pricing is submitted on a firm fixed price basis and structured as a milestone payment schedule, where each milestone has a description, a price, and a target completion date. Payments are tied to completed events rather than reimbursed as incurred costs.

Cost share is directly connected to eligibility. If your project qualifies through significant nontraditional or small business participation, cost share is generally not required. If you instead rely on the third eligibility path, at least one-third of total project cost must come from non-federal sources. Cost share can be cash or in-kind, where in-kind means non-financial resources such as wear and tear on capital equipment, the prorated value of facility space, or the fair market value of materials used on the project.

The government does not reimburse the cost of preparing white papers or proposals, and no costs incurred before the effective date of an agreement are recoverable.

What Is the Timeline and How Does the Process Work?

Because the announcement is continuously open, the timeline is driven by review cycles rather than a due date. The process runs as follows:

First, the company submits a white paper against any focus area through ERDCWERX. The white paper is the technical concept and rough pricing, limited to three pages plus a cover page.

Second, the government reviews the white paper against the evaluation criteria in the announcement. White papers judged advantageous are selected for further consideration.

Third, the company is notified of selection or non-selection, typically within 60 to 90 days of submission.

Fourth, if a white paper is selected and funding is available, the government may request a solution pitch or technical demonstration and may issue a Request for Prototype Proposal (RFPP). If a white paper is selected but funding is not currently available, the government may keep it in an electronic library for consideration and possible funding for up to three years after submission.

Fifth, once an RFPP is issued, the company collaborates with the government to develop the Statement of Work, then submits a full proposal within the time stated in the RFPP.

Sixth, the government evaluates the proposal, negotiates as needed, and makes an award once terms and conditions are agreed upon.

A significant advantage sits at the end of this path. Under 10 U.S.C. 4022(f), a company that successfully completes a prototype Other Transaction can receive a follow-on production award on a noncompetitive basis. In other words, a well-executed prototype can open the door to production work without having to re-compete.

What Does the White Paper Require?

The white paper is short and focused. It runs no more than three pages, not counting the cover page, and includes the following.

A cover page, generated from the submission form, capturing the point of contact, the submitting business and its Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, business status (nontraditional, traditional, or nonprofit research institution), the focus areas addressed, a project title, a prototype description, the DoD purpose, and the ROM price.

Technical requirements, covering the background and benefits of the proposed solution, the technical approach with a clearly defined prototype, and anticipated data rights assertions if applicable.

A Rough Order of Magnitude price, including anticipated cost share if applicable and any supporting documentation.

Formatting requirements are specific. Pages are 8.5 by 11 inches, numbered X of Y. Margins are at least one inch on all sides. The font is 12 point Times New Roman, single spaced. All acronyms are spelled out on first use. The language is English. The file must be a PDF compatible with Adobe Acrobat Reader 11.0 and under 20 MB. Classified information must not be included, and generic capability brochures are not accepted in place of a white paper.

How Are White Papers Evaluated?

White papers are assessed on an integrated basis against four considerations: the degree to which the solution meets a government problem, need, or capability gap within an identified focus area; whether the ROM price is commensurate with the proposed solution; government funding availability; and whether the submission sufficiently demonstrates one of the eligibility conditions, meaning significant nontraditional participation, significant nonprofit research institution participation, an all small business or nontraditional participant pool, or at least one-third non-federal cost share.

If the project advances to a full proposal, evaluation broadens to scientific and technical merit, the qualifications of the program manager and key personnel, the significance of any nontraditional or nonprofit participation, and whether the budget is realistic, reasonable, and fully justified.

Why This Opportunity Deserves Attention

The BOTAA is one of the most accessible defense funding mechanisms available to a company that is not already embedded in the defense industrial base, and it is not widely tracked by commercially focused firms. Recent activity suggests the odds are reasonable for a well-targeted concept. Based on figures reflecting the current fiscal year, an estimated 20 to 25 of roughly 200 submissions advanced to the proposal stage or received funding, which points to an advancement rate above 10 percent. That is broadly comparable to what strong applicants see in competitive SBIR programs, and it is achieved with a much shorter initial submission.

The breadth of the focus areas is the other reason to pay attention. Companies working in cybersecurity, high-performance computing and data analytics, advanced and additive manufacturing, edge computing, modeling and simulation, autonomous systems, sensors, advanced materials, and infrastructure technologies all have a natural home under Military Engineering or Engineered Resilient Systems. If your technology has any of those characteristics and a plausible defense application, the three-page white paper is a low-cost way to test government interest.

How BW&CO Helps

BW&CO Consulting helps deep-tech, biotech, medtech, and defense-adjacent founders win non-dilutive federal funding, including Other Transaction opportunities like ERDC BOTAA 25-01. We help you determine whether your technology fits a Military Engineering or Engineered Resilient Systems focus area, position the concept against a specific government capability gap, structure eligibility and any cost share, and build a white paper that survives evaluation. If you want to know whether this vehicle is a fit for your company, reach out and we will assess it with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ERDC BOTAA 25-01?

ERDC BOTAA 25-01 is a Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement issued in October 2024 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center. It uses Other Transaction authority under 10 U.S.C. 4022 to fund prototype projects in Military Engineering and Engineered Resilient Systems, and it is continuously open with no fixed deadline.

Who can apply to the ERDC BOTAA?

Nontraditional defense contractors, traditional defense contractors, and nonprofit research institutions can apply. To receive an award, the project must include significant nontraditional or nonprofit participation, consist of only small business and nontraditional participants, or include at least one-third non-federal cost share.

What is the deadline for the ERDC BOTAA?

There is no deadline. The announcement is continuously open, so white papers can be submitted at any time and are evaluated as they arrive.

How much funding can I receive through the BOTAA?

There is no published dollar ceiling. Funding is scoped to the prototype concept. Companies provide a Rough Order of Magnitude price at the white paper stage, and full proposals are priced on a firm fixed price basis with milestone payments.

Is cost share required?

Cost share is not automatically required. If your project qualifies through significant nontraditional or small business participation, you generally do not need cost share. If you qualify through the third eligibility path, at least one-third of total project cost must come from non-federal sources, and that share can be cash or in-kind.

What are the focus areas of ERDC BOTAA 25-01?

There are two business areas. Military Engineering covers protective structures, protection and survivability, geophysical sensors and data fusion, vulnerability analytics, geoscience and material modeling, mobility of manned and unmanned systems, engineering enabling technologies, global access engineering, infrastructure repair, and decision-aid software. Engineered Resilient Systems covers cybersecurity, HPC-enabled advanced manufacturing, high performance data analytics, system engineering techniques, surrogate model development, edge computing, and computational material testing.

What is a nontraditional defense contractor?

A nontraditional defense contractor is an entity that has not performed a DoD contract or subcontract subject to full Cost Accounting Standards coverage for at least the one-year period preceding the announcement. Most commercial and venture-backed technology companies qualify.

What is an Other Transaction?

An Other Transaction is a flexible award instrument authorized under 10 U.S.C. 4022 for prototype projects. Other Transactions are generally not subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which allows terms to be negotiated and typically enables a faster, more collaborative process than a traditional contract.

How long is the white paper?

The white paper is three pages or fewer, not counting the cover page. It must be a PDF under 20 MB, formatted in 12 point Times New Roman, single spaced, with one-inch margins and numbered pages.

How long does the review take?

Companies are typically notified of selection or non-selection within 60 to 90 days of submitting a white paper.

Can a prototype lead to a production contract?

Yes. Under 10 U.S.C. 4022(f), a company that successfully completes a prototype Other Transaction can receive a follow-on production award on a noncompetitive basis.

How do I submit a white paper?

White papers are submitted electronically through ERDCWERX at the Broad Other Transaction Authority Announcement page on erdcwerx.org. Do not include classified information, and do not submit generic capability brochures in place of a white paper.

How is a BOTAA different from SBIR?

A BOTAA has no fixed deadline, no published funding ceiling, and a much shorter initial submission (a three-page white paper rather than a full proposal). It uses Other Transaction authority outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation and can lead directly to noncompetitive production, whereas SBIR follows fixed phases, set award amounts, and periodic solicitation windows.

ARPA-H ASCENT-IBO: Ibogaine Clinical Trials for Opioid Use Disorder (Funding Opportunity Overview)

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

ASCENT-IBO (Accelerating Safe Clinical Evaluation of Novel Treatments: Ibogaine for Better Outcomes in Opioid Use Disorder) is a funding opportunity from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). It is issued as Special Notice ARPA-H-SN-26-158 under the Proactive Health Office Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-24-106. ARPA-H is seeking teams to design and run accelerated, combined Phase I and Phase II clinical trials that evaluate the safety and efficacy of ibogaine in high-risk patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). Interested organizations submit a Solution Summary of no more than six pages by October 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Commercial, industry-led teams with an active or imminent Investigational New Drug (IND) application are explicitly favored. This effort implements Executive Order 14401, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness.

What Is ASCENT-IBO and Who Issued It?

ASCENT-IBO is a Special Notice published by ARPA-H, the research funding agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that pursues high-risk, high-reward health breakthroughs. The full title is Accelerating Safe Clinical Evaluation of Novel Treatments: Ibogaine for Better Outcomes in Opioid Use Disorder.

The Special Notice carries identifier ARPA-H-SN-26-158. It builds on an earlier notice, ARPA-H-SN-26-156, which established a Proactive Health Office (PHO) area of interest tied to Executive Order 14401. ASCENT-IBO is supplementary to the underlying solicitation and does not change it. All submissions are made to, and must comply with, the PHO Innovative Solutions Opening ISO ARPA-H-SOL-24-106.

In plain terms, ARPA-H wants to close a specific gap: despite anecdotal reports of ibogaine reducing opioid cravings and withdrawal, there is currently no active U.S. clinical trial with an open IND studying ibogaine for OUD. ASCENT-IBO is the agency's push to change that quickly and safely.

Why Is ARPA-H Funding Ibogaine Research Now?

Opioid use disorder affects more than five million people in the United States, and more than 75 percent of individuals with OUD receive no treatment at all. Existing medications for OUD such as buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone, usually paired with psychotherapy, reduce overdose deaths and improve outcomes, but dropout and relapse rates remain high, and the period following treatment discontinuation or a nonfatal overdose is a well-documented window of elevated mortality risk.

Ibogaine belongs to a class of compounds ARPA-H refers to as neuroplastogens, rapid-acting interventions that may drive lasting, beneficial changes in brain function. Early and largely anecdotal evidence from unregulated clinics abroad suggests it may meaningfully reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal, but that evidence has never been tested in a rigorous, federally authorized U.S. trial.

The policy driver is Executive Order 14401, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, signed April 18, 2026. The order directs the federal government to accelerate research models and drug approvals for psychedelic and neuroplastogen-based treatments, specifically naming ibogaine, and to partner with state governments advancing this work. Texas launched an ibogaine research consortium in 2025, which is one example of the state-level activity the order references.

What Is ARPA-H Actually Looking For?

ARPA-H is asking for a Solution Summary of no more than six pages that describes, at a high level, a plan to design and execute accelerated clinical trials of ibogaine for OUD. A competitive Solution must address all three of the following tasks. Partial responses that cover only one or two tasks are unlikely to advance.

Task 1: Combined Phase I/II Clinical Trial Design

The centerpiece of the ask is a study design that evaluates safety and efficacy at the same time, in patient cohorts with OUD who are at increased risk of mortality. ARPA-H wants the design described at a high level across four specific dimensions:

• Dosing strategy. Ibogaine dosing approaches that reach clinically relevant, psychoactive exposure levels associated with therapeutic effect.

• Set and setting. The therapeutic environment and psychological support framework used during and after ibogaine administration to maximize therapeutic potential.

• Placebo strategy. An appropriate placebo or active comparator that minimizes patient bias and preserves blinding as much as ibogaine's strong psychoactive profile allows, including a plan to measure patient unblinding so its effect on outcomes can be interpreted.

• Safety assessments and risk mitigation. Rigorous monitoring aligned with gold-standard scientific and regulatory principles. Solutions are expected to name known and anticipated risks in ibogaine and OUD populations, in particular drug-related cardiotoxicity, drug-drug interactions, and detoxification and opioid withdrawal management, and to describe active safety controls such as dose de-escalation or step-back actions that prioritize patient safety.

Task 2: Operational Plans for Trial Execution

Beyond the design, ARPA-H wants a high-level operational plan for actually running the trial. This includes staff training, integration planning, patient education, and a patient recruitment strategy that is scalable and ethically sound.

Task 3: Future Development Plans

Solutions should show a path forward, including high-level plans to prepare for accelerated entry into Phase III and plans to develop a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS).

There is also an encouraged but optional element. Solutions that consider using the FDA's Expanded Access program or the Right-to-Try Act to broaden access for eligible patients are described by ARPA-H as highly encouraged, though not required.

What Makes a Solution Competitive?

ARPA-H is unusually direct about what will rise to the top. A startup or company preparing a Solution Summary should weigh the following signals:

• Commercial, industry-led teams are favored. ARPA-H states that Solutions led by a commercial entity responsible for all clinical trial execution activities may be most advantageous for rapid advancement and eventual market entry.

• An IND is close to the center of the evaluation. Solutions with an IND application already submitted, or with imminent plans to submit to the FDA, will be prioritized.

• Combined Phase I and II design plus well-defined safety strategies are prioritization criteria in their own right.

• Full coverage of the statement of work is expected. Teams are responsible for every element of the SOW and are expected to have adequate personnel, including regulatory consultants with neuroplastogen drug development expertise.

• Existing relationships and state-level support should be spelled out. If a team has partnerships or state-level backing for ibogaine or neuroplastogen clinical development, ARPA-H wants those commitments described clearly.

• Affordability and public health thinking help. Because ARPA-H aims to increase patient access, the most competitive Solutions will include initial concepts for affordability, price transparency, and public health benefit models for the period after advanced clinical development.

What Is Out of Scope?

Some approaches are explicitly disqualified. ASCENT-IBO does not want Solutions that propose ibogaine-derived derivatives or analogues, other neuroplastogen compounds including but not limited to psilocybin and ketamine, or neuromodulation-based treatments. This notice is specifically about ibogaine itself for OUD.

How Much Funding Is Available?

The Special Notice does not publish a dollar figure, a ceiling, or a fixed number of awards for ASCENT-IBO. This is normal for this type of vehicle. ASCENT-IBO runs through the Proactive Health Office Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO ARPA-H-SOL-24-106), and ARPA-H funds ISO projects on an individual basis using its range of flexible mechanisms, which for this kind of translational work typically means Other Transaction agreements rather than standard grants. Award size is negotiated based on the scope of the proposed trial rather than set by a published cap.

Two practical points follow from this. First, ARPA-H will not reimburse any costs incurred in responding to this Special Notice, attending Proposers' Day, or preparing submissions to the ISO. Second, the ISO uses a two-step gate: proposers submit a Solution Summary first, ARPA-H provides written feedback on viability and interest, and a full proposal should only be submitted after that feedback is received. A full proposal submitted without ARPA-H's written response can be rejected.

What Are the Key Dates and Deadlines?

• Proposers' Day registration opened: August 5, 2026

• Proposers' Day registration deadline: September 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET

• Proposers' Day (Washington, D.C. metro area): September 15, 2026, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET

• Solution Summary requested by: October 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET

All dates are subject to change, and the Special Notice on SAM.gov is the authoritative source. The underlying ISO itself remains open on a rolling basis, but ASCENT-IBO's Solution Summary target date is October 15, 2026.

What Is Proposers' Day and Should You Attend?

Proposers' Day is an optional event held in the Washington, D.C. metro area for organizations considering a Solution. It is not intended for patients, patient advocates, or general-interest audiences. The agenda includes an overview of the area of interest by government personnel, lightning talks where organizations can present one slide in three minutes on a first-come first-served basis, and a panel of federal agencies covering regulatory considerations, clinical guidance, and anticipated challenges.

Registration is required in advance through the ARPA-H Solutions events page, there is no fee, and there is no same-day registration. In-person attendees must present valid government-issued photo identification. Virtual attendance is available once registration is verified. If a team wants to give a lightning talk, it must flag that intent during registration, with no more than one submission per organization.

How Do You Apply?

Interested organizations submit a Solution Summary of no more than six pages, following Appendix A of the PHO ISO ARPA-H-SOL-24-106, through the ARPA-H Solutions site. The Solution Summary must be responsive to all three tasks described above. After review, ARPA-H contacts proposers with further guidance, and only teams that receive a positive written response should proceed to a full proposal.

ARPA-H expects that strong Solutions will require combining expertise, facilities, and capabilities across organizations, and it maintains a teaming page where prospective performers can post profiles and find collaborators. This is worth using early, since assembling clinical, regulatory, and commercial expertise before the deadline is one of the harder parts of a competitive submission.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ASCENT-IBO stand for?

ASCENT-IBO stands for Accelerating Safe Clinical Evaluation of Novel Treatments: Ibogaine for Better Outcomes in Opioid Use Disorder. It is an ARPA-H funding opportunity focused on accelerated Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of ibogaine for opioid use disorder.

What is the Notice ID for ASCENT-IBO?

The Special Notice is ARPA-H-SN-26-158. Submissions are made through the Proactive Health Office Innovative Solutions Opening, ISO ARPA-H-SOL-24-106.

When is the ASCENT-IBO Solution Summary due?

The Solution Summary is requested by October 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Dates can change, so confirm against the Special Notice on SAM.gov before finalizing a submission.

How long is the Solution Summary?

No more than six pages, following Appendix A of the ISO ARPA-H-SOL-24-106.

Does a company need an IND to apply?

An IND is not an absolute requirement to submit a Solution Summary, but ARPA-H will prioritize Solutions that already have an IND application submitted or have imminent plans to submit one to the FDA. Teams without a clear IND path are at a competitive disadvantage.

Can academic institutions apply, or is this only for companies?

Academic and other organizations can participate, and teaming is encouraged. However, ARPA-H states that commercial, industry-led Solutions where a single commercial entity is responsible for all clinical trial execution may be most advantageous for rapid advancement and market entry. Many competitive teams will pair a commercial lead with academic and clinical partners.

Are psilocybin, ketamine, or ibogaine analogues eligible?

No. Solutions proposing ibogaine-derived derivatives or analogues, other neuroplastogens such as psilocybin and ketamine, or neuromodulation-based treatments do not align with this notice. ASCENT-IBO is specifically about ibogaine for OUD.

How much money can an awardee receive?

The Special Notice does not publish a specific dollar amount or ceiling. Funding runs through the PHO ISO, which uses ARPA-H's flexible mechanisms, commonly Other Transaction agreements, with award size scoped to the proposed trial. ARPA-H does not reimburse costs of responding to the notice.

Do you have to attend Proposers' Day to submit?

No. Proposers' Day is optional. It is a useful way to hear directly from federal agencies on regulatory and clinical considerations and to find teaming partners, but attendance is not a condition of submitting a Solution Summary.

What safety risks does ARPA-H specifically want addressed?

ARPA-H calls out drug-related cardiotoxicity, drug-drug interactions, and detoxification and opioid withdrawal management as known and anticipated risks, and it expects active mitigation strategies such as dose de-escalation or step-back actions to protect patient safety.

What executive order is this connected to?

ASCENT-IBO implements Executive Order 14401, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, signed April 18, 2026, which directs the federal government to accelerate access to psychedelic and neuroplastogen treatments, including ibogaine, for serious mental illness.

How BW&CO Can Help

BW&CO Consulting helps deep-tech, biotech, medtech, and health-focused startups win non-dilutive federal funding. For an opportunity like ASCENT-IBO, that means positioning a combined Phase I/II design against ARPA-H's stated priorities, tightening the IND and regulatory narrative, structuring a commercial-led team with the right clinical and neuroplastogen expertise, and preparing a Solution Summary that clears ARPA-H's written-feedback gate on the first pass. If you are considering a submission, reach out before the October 15, 2026 target date so there is time to build the team and the trial narrative.

2026 SBA Critical Suppliers Prize Competition

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The 2026 Critical Suppliers Prize Competition is a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) prize challenge offering up to $20 million in non-dilutive funding, with an expected 4 to 6 winners each receiving up to $6 million. It is designed to help profitable, execution-ready U.S. small manufacturers rapidly scale existing production in three priority areas: advanced metals manufacturing, advanced materials manufacturing, and energy systems, energetics, and components. Submissions are due by August 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET, sent by email to investinnovate@sba.gov. There is no application fee and no equity is taken. Winners are announced on or about September 10, 2026.

Key Facts at a Glance

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Funding agency: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Legal authority: America COMPETES Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 3719. Funding type: non-dilutive prize funding, not a grant, contract, or equity investment. Total prize pool: up to $20 million. Award size: up to $6 million per winner. Expected number of winners: 4 to 6. Deadline: August 28, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET. Winners announced: on or about September 10, 2026. Application cost: free. Submission method: email to investinnovate@sba.gov. Estimated time to complete a submission: about 3 hours.

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Program Overview

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The SBA created this competition to strengthen U.S. industrial supply chains by putting capital directly into small manufacturers that are already operating and already generating revenue. The central idea is reshoring with innovation rather than reshoring for its own sake. A large share of U.S. manufacturing was offshored over the past several decades, and the program aims to bring that capacity back in a form that competes on efficiency and scale, not just on location.

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The most important distinction to understand up front is that this is scale-up money, not research and development money. The funds are meant to refine, accelerate, and scale solutions that already exist. Companies that are still in the research phase, still proving a concept, or still building a first product are not the target for this competition. The SBA is explicitly looking for established suppliers that can turn capital into measurable increases in production or measurable improvements in production efficiency within six months of receiving an award.

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Awards are structured as prize payments tied to projected and completed operational milestones. In practice, that means the money is released against defined, near-term deliverables rather than handed over as a lump sum with no strings. Winners must be able to point to a specific milestone, show how the prize money moves them toward it, and demonstrate that the milestone produces a tangible output on a short timeline.

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Who This Is For

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This competition is a strong fit for a company that is a U.S.-based small business, is currently profitable and creditworthy, is already manufacturing at some scale, and has a clear, fundable plan to expand output or improve production efficiency in the next one to six months. It is a poor fit for a pre-revenue startup, an early-stage R&D company, or any firm whose primary need is to fund research, hire staff, cover overhead, or extend runway. If the honest answer to "could we deploy this money into production within six months and show a measurable result" is no, this is not the right opportunity.

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The Three Award Focus Areas

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Every eligible submission must provide tangible deliverables in at least one of three Award Focus Areas. These represent the supply chain gaps and chokepoints the SBA is prioritizing.

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The first focus area is Advanced Metals Manufacturing. This includes rapid tooling, precision casting and forging, heat treated components, strategic and critical minerals, and rare earth element recovery and magnet production. Companies working on domestic critical mineral processing, magnet supply, or high-precision metal component production fit squarely here.

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The second focus area is Advanced Materials Manufacturing. This includes large format additive manufacturing and materials transformation. Firms scaling industrial-scale additive manufacturing or novel materials processing are the target.

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The third focus area is Energy Systems, Energetics and Components. This includes nuclear energy, battery energy storage systems, and standardization efforts. Companies producing energy storage hardware, nuclear-related components, or working on standardization across energy systems fit this area.

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A company only needs to align with one of these areas, but the alignment must be genuine and demonstrable. The judges evaluate mission alignment as a scored criterion, so a stretched or tangential connection to a focus area is a weak position.

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Funding Allowance: What the Money Can and Cannot Be Used For

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This is one of the most restrictive parts of the competition, and it is where many otherwise strong companies will disqualify themselves if they are not careful. The core principle is that award money must go toward operational milestones that scale production or improve production efficiency, and it must not go toward general overhead.

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The solicitation lists eight prohibited uses. The prize money cannot be used for repayment of indebtedness. It cannot be used for hiring new staff or any other employee compensation. It cannot be used for additional research and development. It cannot be used for distributions to shareholders or investors. It cannot be used for advertising or marketing. It cannot be used for rent, lease expenses, or utilities. It cannot be used for business travel. It cannot be used for office supplies.

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The solicitation does not publish a matching list of approved cost categories. What it does require is proof that the funds go toward a defined near-term production milestone and not toward overhead. Reading the prohibited list together with the milestone requirement, the eligible uses point toward direct capital deployment that expands or improves production, for example tooling, production equipment, capacity expansion, and materials and process improvements that generate measurable output within six months. Applicants should describe their intended use in exactly those terms and should explicitly demonstrate that no portion of the award covers general overhead.

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A practical tip: the pitch deck outline asks applicants to describe other sources of capital that will be deployed alongside the prize money. This is deliberate. The SBA wants to see that the award slots into a real capital stack and funds a specific production milestone, not that it becomes the company's operating budget.

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Eligibility Requirements

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Only eligible contestants may enter, and only one entry per business will be considered. An individual cannot belong to more than one entry.

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At the company level, a contestant must be a U.S.-based small business under SBA size standards. It must be organized in and maintain its primary place of business in the United States or its territories. It must be profitable and able to demonstrate creditworthiness. It must be in good standing in the jurisdiction of its state of organization. It must be current and in good standing on all federal obligations. Any business, or any business owned or controlled by a person, that previously defaulted on a federal loan or federally guaranteed financing and caused the government a loss is ineligible. For this purpose, a compromise agreement described at 31 C.F.R. 3711 is also treated as a loss.

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At the individual level, everyone submitting a response, including individuals from partner organizations, must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who is at least eighteen years old at the time of submission. All members of the contestant's senior management team must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents over the age of eighteen.

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Certain parties are barred entirely. SBA employees and SBA contractors, federal entities, and federal employees acting within the scope of their employment cannot participate. Any individual or organization currently suspended or debarred by the federal government cannot participate.

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Finally, every eligible contestant must agree to assume the risks of participation, waive claims against the federal government, and accept the liability and insurance requirements set out in the competition rules.

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The Six-Month Test

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Eligibility and scoring both hinge on speed. A contestant must demonstrate the ability to deploy funds rapidly, defined as within six months. A contestant must also demonstrate that with the award it will achieve a measurable increase in production or implement a solution that supports production efficiency, also within six months of the award. The program describes itself as prioritizing execution-ready firms with clear pathways to near-term supply chain impact. If a company cannot credibly show measurable results inside a six-month window, it will struggle against the judging criteria even if it is technically eligible.

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Timeline and Key Dates

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The submission window opened on July 28, 2026, and closes on August 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. The screening, vetting, and judging period runs from July 28, 2026, through September 10, 2026. Winners are announced on or about September 10, 2026. The full cycle from open to award is compressed into roughly six weeks, which reinforces the program's emphasis on companies that are ready to move immediately.

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Given the short window, any interested company should treat the pitch deck and its supporting financials as something to prepare now rather than something to build in the final days before the deadline.

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How to Apply

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There is no fee to enter and no formal application portal. Submissions are emailed directly to investinnovate@sba.gov and must arrive by the August 28, 2026, 11:59 p.m. deadline. SBA estimates that completing a submission takes about three hours on average.

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A pitch deck is suggested but not strictly required. If you choose to submit one, the SBA provides an example outline organized around telling your company's story, explaining how you would use the prize money, and showing how you would fulfill the competition goals. The suggested structure has four parts.

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The Introduction covers a brief description of the business with a website link, plus a condensed summary of how the business addresses the competition goals.

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The Operating History and Current Capital Needs section covers a snapshot of financial performance from the most recent reporting period, a brief company history including founding date and milestones achieved, and a snapshot of current capital needs including current investors, debt providers, cashflow from operations, and any other federal funding received.

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The Potential Impact section covers the near-term milestone to be achieved with the award, a description of how the proceeds will be used within one to six months, a description of other capital deployed alongside the award, proof that the award will not be used for general overhead, and a business plan snapshot with a revenue forecast that assumes achieving the milestone compared to projections without the award.

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The References section provides names and contact information for customers, suppliers, board members, the accounting firm, outside counsel, and other character references for the senior management team. Because reference calls feed directly into the character and integrity scoring, these references should be chosen carefully and given a heads-up.

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On visuals and media, images, diagrams, and other graphics are allowed with brief captions at a minimum resolution of 200 dpi. Two hard rules apply: the submission must not use the SBA logo or official seal, and it must not claim SBA endorsement.

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How Winners Are Selected

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Before any judging happens, every submission goes through a vetting and screening process for eligibility and completeness. Vetting can look at the general business reputation of the owners and management, risks posed by the organization, compliance with executive orders and applicable laws, and any conflicts of interest with the agency. SBA can request clarifying information at any point and can revisit eligibility at any time. Contestants that do not pass vetting cannot advance.

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A judging panel of impartial SBA personnel then rates the submissions against four criteria. The first is Character, Integrity and Cohesion of Management Team, which looks for clear evidence that the senior team is qualified to execute, that the team has high character and integrity based on materials and reference calls, and that the team is likely to keep working together toward the goal. The second is Business Model Evaluation, which checks that the proposed use of funds aligns with the competition goals and that the award will not be spent on overhead. The third is Execution Certainty, which looks at the likelihood of future success and whether the company has other sources of capital that round out the capital stack needed to execute. The fourth is Mission Alignment and Impact, which confirms the business aligns with the competition goals and that the proposed use of funds sits within a one-to-six-month window with projections showing measurable impact.

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The panel may also consider vetting information and the geographic location and dispersal of contestants when selecting winners. During judging, SBA may ask for clarification of technical and cost aspects, though this is not a commitment to fund.

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Intellectual Property and Legal Notes

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Intellectual property from the competition stays with the contestant. All entries remain the sole intellectual property of the individuals or organizations that developed them, and accepting an award does not transfer IP rights to the federal government. By entering, a contestant warrants that it is the sole author and copyright owner of the submission or has sufficient rights to use it.

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A few other terms are worth noting. By entering, contestants consent to SBA using their name, likeness, and related information for promotional purposes. All submissions become SBA records, cannot be returned, and are retained under National Archives guidelines, so contestants should mark any confidential commercial information at the time of submission. SBA reserves the right to modify or cancel the competition at any time before awards, and publication of the rules is not an obligation of funds.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the 2026 SBA Critical Suppliers Prize Competition?

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It is a prize competition run by the U.S. Small Business Administration under the America COMPETES Act that awards up to $20 million total in non-dilutive funding to U.S. small manufacturers, helping them rapidly scale existing production in critical supply chain areas. An expected 4 to 6 winners each receive up to $6 million.

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How much money can my company win?

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Each winner can receive up to $6 million. The SBA expects to name 4 to 6 winners, drawing from a total prize pool of up to $20 million.

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Is this funding non-dilutive?

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Yes. The award is non-dilutive prize funding. The SBA does not take equity, and the money is not a loan that must be repaid.

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Who is eligible to apply?

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A profitable, creditworthy U.S.-based small business that meets SBA size standards, is in good standing on its federal and state obligations, and has all senior management as U.S. citizens or permanent residents over eighteen. The company must be able to deploy funds and show measurable production impact within six months.

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What are the three award focus areas?

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Advanced Metals Manufacturing, Advanced Materials Manufacturing, and Energy Systems, Energetics and Components. A submission must provide tangible deliverables in at least one of these areas.

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Can a startup that is still doing R&D apply?

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No. This program funds scaling and refining of solutions that already exist, not research and development. Companies still in the research or concept phase are not the intended audience, and additional R&D is a prohibited use of the funds.

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What can the prize money be used for?

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The money must fund a defined near-term operational milestone that increases production or improves production efficiency within six months, and it must not touch general overhead. In practice that points toward capital deployment such as tooling, production equipment, capacity expansion, and materials or process improvements that produce measurable output.

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What can the prize money not be used for?

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It cannot be used for debt repayment, hiring or employee compensation, additional research and development, distributions to shareholders or investors, advertising or marketing, rent or lease expenses or utilities, business travel, or office supplies.

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Does my company have to be profitable?

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Yes. Contestants must be currently profitable and able to demonstrate creditworthiness. This is both an eligibility requirement and part of the scoring.

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How fast do I need to deploy the funds?

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Within six months. You must show both the ability to deploy the capital rapidly and the ability to achieve a measurable production increase or efficiency improvement inside that same six-month window.

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When is the deadline?

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August 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET. The submission window opened on July 28, 2026.

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How do I submit my entry?

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By email to investinnovate@sba.gov. There is no application portal and no fee.

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Do I have to submit a pitch deck?

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No. A pitch deck is suggested and the SBA provides an example outline, but it is optional. If you submit one, it should cover your company introduction, operating history and capital needs, potential impact and milestone plan, and references.

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Will the SBA take my intellectual property?

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No. All entries remain the sole intellectual property of the company that developed them, and accepting an award does not transfer any IP rights to the federal government.

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How are winners chosen?

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Submissions are first vetted for eligibility, completeness, business reputation, and conflicts of interest. A panel of SBA personnel then scores each surviving submission on four criteria: management team character and cohesion, business model, execution certainty, and mission alignment and impact. Geographic dispersal may also be considered.

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How many companies will win?

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The SBA intends to name 4 to 6 winners on or about September 10, 2026.

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Is there a cost to enter?

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No. Entry is free.

DARPA PINPOINT (HR001126S0016): What Your Startup Needs to Know

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

PINPOINT (Precision Inertial Navigation and Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract) is a DARPA Defense Sciences Office Broad Agency Announcement, number HR001126S0016, seeking revolutionary inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology for navigation in GPS-denied environments. DARPA wants novel micro-scale inertial sensors that break past the decade-long performance plateau of MEMS IMUs by using nonlinear physics such as electromagnetically levitated proof masses, high-velocity resonators, and non-linear mechanical structures, all co-designed with real-time adaptive control systems. This is a two-phase program, but only Phase I (24 months) is being solicited now. A conforming abstract is required by August 27, 2026, before any full proposal can be submitted, and full proposals are due September 25, 2026. Multiple awards are anticipated. Award instruments can be procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, or Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype.

Program Snapshot

Program name: Precision Inertial Navigation and Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract (PINPOINT). Funding opportunity number: HR001126S0016. Agency: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office (DSO). Announcement type: Initial Announcement (Broad Agency Announcement). Assistance Listing number: 12.910 Research and Technology Development. NAICS code: 541715. Posting date: August 6, 2026. Anticipated awards: multiple. Point of contact: PINPOINT@darpa.mil.

What Is PINPOINT?

PINPOINT is a DARPA program that challenges the research community to reinvent inertial navigation from the physics up. The goal is a proof-of-concept six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) IMU that delivers navigation and pointing performance approaching that of large, expensive navigation-grade systems, but in the small size, low weight, low power, and low cost (SWaP-C) footprint of modern tactical and unmanned platforms.

The program pairs two things that DARPA considers inseparable. The first is a new class of inertial sensor that operates in a highly nonlinear regime rather than the linear, small-motion regime that today's MEMS devices rely on. The second is an advanced, real-time adaptive control system designed to stabilize and actually harness those complex nonlinear dynamics. DARPA is explicit that these two elements must be co-designed together, not developed separately and bolted together later.

The Problem DARPA Is Trying to Solve

U.S. military operations depend heavily on GPS for positioning, navigation, and timing. That dependency becomes a liability in contested environments where GPS can be jammed, spoofed, or degraded by terrain and weather. When GPS goes down, warfighters fall back on Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), but current inertial technology forces a hard tradeoff.

At the high-performance end, strategic-grade systems such as ring-laser gyroscopes are precise but too large, too power-hungry, and too expensive for most tactical and unmanned platforms. At the compact end, MEMS IMUs are small and cheap, but their performance has been flat for roughly a decade. They suffer from noise and drift severe enough that they become unreliable within seconds. Alternatives such as visual navigation still rely on a baseline IMU, carry their own SWaP burden, and fail in fog, during rapid motion, or over featureless terrain like open water, clouds, and deserts.

PINPOINT is designed to close the gap between the large and costly high-performers and the SWaP-C-constrained tactical systems, delivering navigation-grade behavior in GPS-contested settings. DARPA points to its earlier Highly Accelerated Learning of Vibratory Systems (HALOVS) portfolio as a foundation, noting that resonators operating near the fundamental material fracture limit can offer more than two orders of magnitude improvement over today's devices, and that levitated structures can isolate the sensing mass from its substrate to eliminate anchor losses and environmental coupling.

What DARPA Is Looking For

DARPA wants revolutionary approaches, and it is blunt about what that means. The technical area is the physics and nonlinear control of inertial measurement units for tactical and unmanned missions. Proposers should investigate approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems.

Approaches DARPA specifically invites you to consider include electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, high-velocity tethered microsystems, and non-linear mechanical structures. Prior participation in a DARPA program is not required, but proposers are encouraged to build on the public science documented in the HALOVS portfolio. The solicitation stays open to alternative approaches, provided you can show compelling evidence that your solution can hit the program metrics within the program timeline.

DARPA also wants more than hardware. Every performer will be required to deliver a comprehensive Design Guide and a Prototype Design Kit (PDK). The PDK must specify the simulated, usable design space and projected performance of the chosen technology platform, so that the delivered sensors can be redesigned as mission needs evolve over time. This is a core deliverable, not an afterthought.

What Is Explicitly Excluded

Research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice is specifically excluded. If your concept is a better version of a current MEMS device rather than a genuinely different physical approach, it will not align with this BAA. During conformity review, a proposal can be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration if it does not investigate an innovative approach that enables revolutionary advances.

Target Applications and Performance Metrics

Each proposal must focus on a single target application and clearly state its system-level performance objectives, for example a circular error probable (CEP) for a given mission duration. You may submit multiple proposals, but each one must strictly address only one use case. DARPA offers two illustrative use cases with example metrics, and it also welcomes alternative defense-relevant use cases as long as the metrics you propose are at least as challenging.

Use Case One: Precision Strike Munitions

This application prioritizes high dynamic range plus robust shock and vibration immunity. The example Phase I targets are an accelerometer range of plus or minus 1,000 g, a gyroscope range of plus or minus 5,000 degrees per second, vibration survivability of 20 gRMS, shock survivability of 1,000 g, accelerometer noise (velocity random walk) of 10 millimeters per second per root hour, and gyroscope noise (angle random walk) of 1e-4 degrees per root hour.

The example Phase II targets, which are rough order-of-magnitude estimates only, scale up sharply: accelerometer range of plus or minus 10,000 g, gyroscope range of plus or minus 10,000 degrees per second, vibration survivability of 50 gRMS, shock survivability of 10,000 g, accelerometer noise below 1 millimeter per second per root hour, and gyroscope noise of 1e-5 degrees per root hour. SWaP is to be reported in the Design Guide.

Use Case Two: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems

This application prioritizes long-term stability so an INS can support dead reckoning in GPS-denied environments. The example Phase I targets are vibration survivability of 10 gRMS, accelerometer bias instability of 1 microgram measured as Allan Deviation at a 1,000-second integration time, and gyroscope bias instability of 1e-3 degrees per hour measured as Allan Deviation at a 1,000-second integration time.

The example Phase II targets, again rough estimates only, are vibration survivability of 20 gRMS, accelerometer bias instability of 0.1 microgram at the same 1,000-second point, and gyroscope bias instability of 2.5e-5 degrees per hour. SWaP is again reported in the Design Guide.

Alternative Use Cases

DARPA will consider other defense-relevant inertial-sensor use cases. Named examples include space operations, radiation-hard environments, navigation missions with intermediate time-scales, ten-year lifetime operation for ultra-low-power sensor networks, and hypersonic trajectories. If you propose an alternate use case, you must supply performance metrics that are at least as challenging as the examples above, and you must back your target with solid technical validation through modeling, simulation, and any available experimental data. You also need quantitative, measurable end-of-phase milestones, an estimated SWaP, and a clear plan including a description of the fabrication process.

Program Structure and Timeline

This BAA solicits Phase I only. Phase II is described for planning purposes and is not guaranteed.

Phase I (24 months)

Phase I asks performers to first prove out the mathematics and simulation of their nonlinear system and dynamic state estimator, then move to bench-top laboratory testing, and finally validate final designs through operational field-testing at designated Department of War (DoW) ranges. The concrete milestones and deliverables are as follows. At month 1, a program kick-off with presentation materials as a deliverable. At month 3, demonstrate and report preliminary mathematical models and simulation results of the control system and dynamic state estimator. At month 6, a Principal Investigator meeting with presentation materials as a deliverable. At month 12, a live laboratory demonstration and report covering all individual sensing components, meaning three acceleration and three rotation sensors, including angular rate, acceleration response, and Allan Deviation measurements out to at least 1,000 seconds for each sensing axis. At month 21, demonstrate sensors meeting Phase I metrics and deliver a minimum of three functional, packaged prototypes for independent verification and validation (IV&V) at a Government laboratory. At month 24, deliver the final hardware IMU samples for a total of five, plus the PDK and the final report.

Phase I performers must enter into an Associate Contractor Agreement (ACA). The ACA mandates sharing of critical, program-generated data among performer teams to accelerate cross-pollination, while setting up strict firewalls to prevent commercial misappropriation of proprietary intellectual property. This is a meaningful condition to understand before you commit, because it requires you to share certain program-generated data with other funded teams during Phase I. DARPA notes this broad data-sharing requirement will be relaxed in Phase II so industry-led teams can protect proprietary IP around their specific hardware and manufacturing processes.

Phase II (24 months, planning only)

Phase II is included for informational and planning purposes only. DARPA anticipates releasing Phase II proposal instructions to all Phase I performers by around month 20 of Phase I, through a separate solicitation. DARPA is not obligated to solicit Phase II, and the decision to continue will depend on Phase I results and available funds. The objective of Phase II is to improve sensor performance and demonstrate a packaging and ruggedization design that meets specific mission specifications, ending with transition-partner IV&V field testing and delivery of five packaged and tested IMU sensors.

Because of the phased approach, your current submission needs a fully definitized Phase I proposal with enough data for award negotiation, plus only a draft Statement of Work and a Rough Order of Magnitude cost for Phase II for Government planning purposes.

IV&V and Exit Criteria

DARPA describes illustrative test gauntlets. For precision strike munitions, the end of Phase I involves a repeated tri-axial 10,000 g shock survival test (referred to as the Hopkinson Bar Gauntlet), and the end of Phase II involves a live-fire launch from the Army SCAT gun in a surrogate munition, with an operate-through pass criterion requiring continuous accurate angular rate data through the launch event. For persistent autonomy, the end of Phase I involves a 24-hour thermal soak requiring a drift rate under 1.0e-3 degrees per hour at 1,000 seconds, and the end of Phase II involves a multi-hour flight on a Group 2 or Group 3 UAV with a pass criterion of CEP under 0.1 nautical miles per hour against truth data. Performer-defined use cases get a custom lab demonstration in Phase I and a custom field exam in Phase II, with pass criteria set during contract negotiation.

Meetings and Travel to Budget For

All proposals must build the following into schedule and cost. A two-day Principal Investigator meeting roughly every six months, and for costing you should assume these alternate between the U.S. east and west coasts. Regular quarterly teleconferences with the Government team for progress reporting and video demonstrations. At least one site visit per phase by the DARPA Program Manager.

Funding

DARPA does not publish a total program budget or a per-award dollar ceiling for the base Phase I effort in this BAA. That is normal for a DARPA BAA of this type, where award value is negotiated based on the technical and management approach in your proposal. Multiple awards are anticipated. Cost and schedule realism is an explicit and weighted evaluation criterion, so your budget needs to be defensible against your Statement of Work, with labor hours, materials, equipment, fabrication, and travel all substantiated.

For Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype, funding is structured as fixed payable milestones, meaning payment is rendered on successful completion of technically relevant, tangible events on the critical path, documented in the Schedule of Milestones and Payments. Some award instrument types carry specific cost-sharing requirements, so review the instrument-specific instructions linked in the solicitation.

Industry Immersion Program Option

The one concrete dollar figure in this solicitation applies to an optional add-on. Industry proposers that include university teams as subcontractors may propose an optional DSO Industry Immersion Program (IIP) task. It funds one U.S. citizen graduate student or postdoctoral researcher from each university partner to embed within a corporate partner's facility for a nine to twelve month period, with Government funding covering labor, travel, and per diem up to $160,000 per student. Each option is limited to a single student, and the decision to fund an IIP option is made independently of the decision to fund the base proposal.

Who Can Apply

All responsible sources capable of meeting the Government's needs may propose, including both U.S. and non-U.S. sources. Non-U.S. organizations and individuals may participate to the extent they comply with any required nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, and export control laws. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and minority institutions are encouraged to propose, though no portion of the announcement is set aside for these organizations.

There are important restrictions for certain institution types. University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), Government entities, and National Laboratories face limits. DARPA will not establish new contractual agreements for these entities under this solicitation, so a proposal submitted by one of them as prime may be deemed non-conforming. They may participate as subcontractors only under specific conditions, including a clearly defined role with a point of contact and a rough order of magnitude cost placed in the technical proposal only, since the cost proposal must exclude their funding. UARC subawards additionally require an organizational conflict of interest mitigation plan. If funded, these organizations must share their work with other performers on the same program.

Compliance Considerations

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) applies to awards that take the form of procurement contracts. DARPA anticipates that procurement contracts under this BAA will require CMMC Level 1 or Level 2. The Government designates the required level in each resulting contract based on whether the work involves Federal Contract Information (FCI) or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). CMMC Level 1 applies when only FCI is handled and requires implementing the 17 basic safeguarding requirements in FAR 52.204-21, with a current self-assessment recorded in the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS). CMMC Level 2 may apply when CUI is handled on non-Federal systems and requires implementing the 110 security requirements in NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, again with a current self-assessment in SPRS. A valid, current certification at the required level is a condition of award, and the requirement flows down to subcontractors handling FCI or CUI. If you do not hold the required certification at award, you are ineligible for that award, so this is worth starting early. DARPA points to Project Spectrum and the APEX Accelerators program as free resources for compliance and registration support.

Two more considerations matter. Fundamental versus non-fundamental research: proposers should indicate whether their scope is fundamental research, though the Government has sole discretion to decide, and non-fundamental awards can carry publication restrictions requiring DARPA permission before publishing. And DARPA's Fundamental Research Risk-Based Security Review process will produce risk assessments of proposed senior and key personnel on fundamental research awards, adjudicated before final award and run separately from the scientific review.

How Proposals Are Evaluated

Proposals are evaluated on four criteria, listed here in descending order of importance. First, Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, meaning the approach is innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete, with detailed technical rationale, logically sequenced tasks, clearly defined deliverables, and identified technical risks with feasible mitigations. Second, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, meaning the effort supports the national security technology base and DARPA's mission to make pivotal early investments, with any intellectual property restrictions not significantly impeding Government transition. Third, Cost and Schedule Realism, meaning costs and schedule are realistic, substantiated, and aggressive but achievable. Fourth, Proposer's Capabilities or Related Experience, meaning demonstrated ability to manage complex efforts and deliver on performance, budget, and schedule.

How to Apply

There is a mandatory abstract phase. You must submit a conforming abstract before you can submit a full proposal. If your abstract is deemed non-conforming, any subsequent full proposal for that abstract will also be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration. If DARPA does not recommend you submit a full proposal, you may still submit one as long as your abstract was conforming, but a favorable abstract response is not a guarantee of selection. Proposers who do not submit an abstract, or who submit a non-conforming abstract, cannot submit a full proposal.

Key dates, all in Eastern Time. Proposal abstract due date is August 27, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. The question submittal window closes September 15, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Full proposals are due September 25, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.

Submission channels depend on instrument. Proposers requesting procurement contracts or Other Transaction Agreements submit through the Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT). Proposers requesting cooperative agreements submit through Grants.gov and must also complete the SF424 (R&R) Budget form. Required attachments include the Abstract Summary Slide Template (Attachment A), Abstract Instructions and Template (Attachment B), Proposal Summary Slides (Attachment C), the Volume I Technical and Management template (Attachment D), the Volume II Cost template and DARPA Cost Proposal Spreadsheet (Attachments E and F), and, for Other Transactions, the Model OT for Prototype and the Schedule of Milestones and Payments (Attachments G and I). All technical, contractual, and administrative questions must go to PINPOINT@darpa.mil rather than to the Program Manager directly.

Is PINPOINT a Fit for Your Startup?

This is a strong fit if you are a deep-tech or hard-science company working in MEMS, precision sensors, photonics and levitated systems, nonlinear dynamics and control, or advanced microfabrication, and you have a genuinely novel physical approach to inertial sensing rather than an incremental MEMS improvement. It is also a fit if you can partner with a university group that brings the underlying physics, since the IIP option and the ACA structure both anticipate industry and academic teaming. It is a poor fit if your concept is evolutionary, if the core research is already complete and you are really seeking manufacturing funds, or if you have already received a positive funding decision for the same concept from DARPA or another agency, since all three of those conditions can make a submission non-conforming.

The timeline is compressed. With the abstract due August 27, 2026, the practical window to shape a competitive concept, line up any university partner, and produce a conforming abstract is short, so it is worth moving quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the DARPA PINPOINT program?

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PINPOINT is a DARPA Defense Sciences Office Broad Agency Announcement (HR001126S0016) seeking revolutionary inertial measurement unit technology for navigation in GPS-denied environments. It funds novel micro-scale inertial sensors that use nonlinear physics, co-designed with adaptive control systems, to deliver near navigation-grade performance in a low size, weight, power, and cost package.

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When are PINPOINT proposals due?

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A conforming abstract is due August 27, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and it is mandatory. The question submittal window closes September 15, 2026. Full proposals are due September 25, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You cannot submit a full proposal without first submitting a conforming abstract.

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How much funding does PINPOINT provide?

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DARPA does not publish a total program budget or a per-award ceiling for the base Phase I effort in this BAA. Multiple awards are anticipated, and award value is negotiated based on your proposed technical approach, cost, and schedule. The only fixed figure stated is for the optional Industry Immersion Program, which provides up to $160,000 per embedded student.

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How long is the PINPOINT program?

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Phase I is 24 months. A 24-month Phase II is anticipated but is not being solicited now and is not guaranteed. Only Phase I is open under this announcement.

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What kind of technology is DARPA looking for?

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DARPA wants revolutionary inertial sensors operating in highly nonlinear regimes, using approaches such as electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, high-velocity tethered microsystems, and non-linear mechanical structures, tightly co-designed with real-time adaptive control. Evolutionary improvements to existing MEMS devices are specifically excluded.

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Can startups and small businesses apply to PINPOINT?

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Yes. All responsible sources may propose, and small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, HBCUs, and minority institutions are encouraged, though there is no set-aside. Both U.S. and non-U.S. sources may participate subject to export control and security requirements.

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What award instruments are available under PINPOINT?

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DARPA may award procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, or Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype. The instrument affects your submission channel, your cost-sharing obligations, and whether CMMC applies.

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Does PINPOINT require CMMC certification?

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CMMC applies to awards that take the form of procurement contracts, and DARPA anticipates requiring CMMC Level 1 or Level 2 depending on whether the work involves Federal Contract Information or Controlled Unclassified Information. A valid, current certification at the required level is a condition of award, so it is worth starting the SPRS self-assessment process early.

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What are the evaluation criteria for PINPOINT?

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In descending order of importance: Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, Cost and Schedule Realism, and the Proposer's Capabilities or Related Experience.

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What is the Associate Contractor Agreement requirement?

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Phase I performers must enter an Associate Contractor Agreement that mandates sharing certain program-generated data with other funded teams, with firewalls to protect proprietary intellectual property. This broad data-sharing requirement is expected to relax in Phase II so teams can protect proprietary hardware and manufacturing IP.

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How do I ask DARPA questions about PINPOINT?

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Email all technical, contractual, and administrative questions to PINPOINT@darpa.mil. Do not email the Program Manager directly, as that may delay or prevent a response. The question submittal window closes September 15, 2026.

Army xTech|Search 10 Competition: SBIR Topic ARM26BX05-NP011

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

xTech|Search 10 is an open-topic Army prize competition that identifies groundbreaking, commercially traded technologies with the potential to deliver game-changing capabilities to the Army. Companies enter by submitting a concept white paper to the xTech|Search 10 competition by October 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. The competition runs in four rounds and awards up to $1,000,000 in cash prizes. Up to 50 semifinalists receive $5,000 each, up to 20 finalists receive an additional $20,000 each, and up to three winners receive an additional $200,000, $100,000, and $50,000. Finalists and winners become eligible to submit a Phase I Army SBIR proposal under topic ARM26BX05-NP011 or a Phase I Army STTR proposal under topic ARM26TX05-NP002 for a potential follow-on award of up to $300,000. Proposals submitted to these topics by non-finalists or non-participants will not be evaluated.

What is the xTech|Search 10 competition?

xTech|Search 10 is an open-topic competition run by the U.S. Army FUZE xTech Program, managed under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)), in partnership with the Army FUZE SBIR|STTR Program. Its purpose is to surface technologies that already have strong commercial traction and that could also provide a disruptive advantage to the Army. Rather than defining a single narrow problem, it invites companies across many technology domains to demonstrate why their solution is best in class and how it maps to Army needs.

The competition functions as a front door to the Army SBIR and STTR programs. It is structured as a prize competition first and a funding pathway second. Companies compete on the strength of a concept white paper, advance through a virtual pitch and a live demonstration, and only finalists and winners are permitted to submit a Phase I proposal under the associated topics. The competition itself is the gate, and the SBIR or STTR award is the prize on the other side of it.

The competition is conducted under 10 U.S.C. 4025, which authorizes prize competitions to stimulate innovation and identify promising technologies for national security applications. Because requirements for competition under 10 U.S.C. 3201 are satisfied on completion of the challenge, xTech|Search functions as a competitive down-select mechanism that lets government organizations pursue follow-on awards through a range of acquisition pathways, including prototype projects, Other Transaction Authority, research and development contracts, and the SBIR and STTR programs.

Because it is open-topic, xTech|Search 10 is one of the most accessible entry points into Army non-dilutive funding for deep-tech startups that may not have a background in defense work but can clearly articulate a technical and commercial advantage.

How much funding is available?

There are two separate pools of money in this competition, and it is worth keeping them distinct when you plan.

Cash prizes. The competition awards up to $1,000,000 in non-dilutive cash prizes across the rounds. Prize money is awarded for advancing, not for delivering a contracted scope of work.

Follow-on SBIR and STTR contracts. Finalists and winners may submit a Phase I Army SBIR proposal under ARM26BX05-NP011 or a Phase I Army STTR proposal under ARM26TX05-NP002, each worth up to $300,000, to further develop and demonstrate proof of concept with an Army customer. Across up to 20 selectees, the Army has indicated up to $6,000,000 in total Phase I SBIR or STTR contract value tied to this competition.

What is the prize structure by round?

The competition consists of four rounds, with cash awards at each stage:

• Round 1, concept white papers. Up to 50 semifinalists are selected at the close of the Part 1 evaluation period. Each receives a cash prize of $5,000 and an invitation to pitch.

• Round 2, virtual semifinals pitch event. Semifinalists pitch their technology concept to a panel of Army and DoW subject matter experts. Up to 20 finalists are selected and each receives an additional cash prize of $20,000.

• Round 3, finals demonstration event. Finalists demonstrate their solution to a panel of Army and DoW subject matter experts. Up to three winners are selected and receive an additional cash prize of $200,000 for first place, $100,000 for second place, and $50,000 for third place.

• Round 4, opportunity to submit a Phase I proposal. Finalists and final winners may submit a Phase I Army SBIR or STTR proposal worth up to $300,000.

Additional detail on the prize structure is in Section VII of the official RFI.

What technologies is the Army looking for?

xTech|Search 10 is deliberately broad. The competition invites industry partners to submit innovative technologies addressing any valid Army need or capability gap. If your technology does not map neatly to a named priority area but you can show it delivers a game-changing capability, you are still encouraged to apply.

That said, the Army has been explicit that highest priority goes to solutions aligned with the core priorities of the newly established Army Pathway for Innovation and Technology (PIT) office. The PIT is chartered to rapidly bridge the valley of death by matching Soldier-driven innovation with streamlined transition pathways for Warfighter-identified gaps at the Corps and Division levels. Evaluation will give strong consideration to technologies that directly address critical Army Warfighting Functions across the PIT focus areas.

Note that this is a meaningful change from prior xTech|Search cycles, which organized priority interest around technology portfolios such as sensors, wearables, and AI/ML. This cycle organizes priority interest around Warfighting Functions instead. If you are reusing language from an earlier xTech submission, reframe it accordingly.

What are the PIT priority focus areas?

The priority areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

• All Arms Maneuver. Expanding combined arms operational reach through endurance and lethality to exploit all-domain maneuver, both manned and unmanned. Examples include autonomous breaching and terrain shaping.

• Command and Control (C2) and Counter-C2 Networks. Survivable communications, mobile multi-domain C2 decision systems, deep-sensing battlefield visibility, electromagnetic and cyberspace advantage, and resilient command posts capable of denying and disrupting adversary ISR and targeting operations. Examples include resilient communications, deep sensing, and C2 overmatch.

• Formation-Based Layered Protection. Multi-domain force readiness plus advanced protection, signature management, and concealment capabilities to safeguard dispersed formations across all operational environments. Examples include adaptive camouflage and force protection.

• Adaptive Sustainment. Rapid inter-theater and intra-theater strategic lift, prolonged expeditionary supply and power distribution, forward maintenance and equipment fabrication, and resilient mass-casualty medical care and Soldier support across distributed operational environments. Examples include distributed tactical logistics and theater lift.

• Cross Domain Fires. Rapid, synchronized deliberate and dynamic joint targeting, multi-domain kinetic and non-kinetic effects delivery including cyber and electronic warfare, persistent air and missile defense against UAS and advanced threats, and resilient control of protected space-domain assets.

What is excluded from this competition?

Technologies that fall exclusively within the portfolio of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) are excluded from xTech|Search. That portfolio covers military infectious diseases, military operational medicine, chemical biological defense, and clinical and rehabilitative medicine.

The word to focus on is exclusively. A dual-use medtech or biotech platform with applications outside the USAMRDC portfolio, for example a sensing, materials, power, or autonomy technology with a medical application among others, is not automatically ruled out. If your technology sits near this line, it is worth getting a read before you invest in a white paper.

Who is eligible to apply?

The competition is open to small, for-profit, independent U.S. businesses. Restrictions apply to the type of firm, its ownership structure, its size, and prior or pending support of similar proposals:

• Type of firm. The firm must be organized as a for-profit concern and meet all other small business requirements in 13 C.F.R. 121.702. Non-profit entities are not eligible.

• Ownership and control. More than 50 percent of the firm's equity must be directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, by other for-profit small business concerns that are themselves directly owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, or by a combination of the two. If an employee stock ownership plan owns all or part of the concern, each stock trustee and plan member counts as an owner. If a trust owns all or part of the concern, each trustee and trust beneficiary counts as an owner.

• Size. The firm, together with its affiliates, must not have more than 500 employees.

• Prior, current, or pending support. Your submission must not be substantially the same as another proposal that was funded, is now being funded, or is pending contract award with another federal agency. Any questions about overlapping support should be disclosed to the Army FUZE xTech Program Office as early as possible.

Companies that have previously participated in xTech|Search competitions are eligible to apply with new technology concepts or with improvements to previously submitted proposals. Only one submission per eligible entity is permitted, so the single shot you get needs to be your strongest technology story.

Failure to meet any requirement results in ineligibility for award. The government reserves the right to verify eligibility and make all final determinations at its sole discretion.

What is the timeline and key deadline?

The single most important date is the white paper deadline. Everything downstream is gated by it.

• September 10, 2026 to October 19, 2026. Concept white paper submission window. Submissions are due October 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Up to 50 semifinalists at $5,000 each.

• January 18 to January 29, 2027. Virtual semifinals pitch event to a panel of Army and DoW subject matter experts. Up to 20 finalists at $20,000 each.

• March 2 to March 4, 2027. Finals demonstration event, held at or around eMerge Americas in Miami. Up to three winners at $200,000, $100,000, and $50,000.

• March 4, 2027. Winners announced.

• March 4, 2027 to April 30, 2027. Window for finalists and winners to submit a Phase I Army SBIR or STTR proposal, up to $300,000 each, for up to 20 selectees.

The competition RFI and application link are available at https://www.xtech.army.mil/competitions/.

Companies that did not participate in the competition, or that participated but were not selected as finalists or winners, are not permitted to submit under ARM26BX05-NP011 or ARM26TX05-NP002 and will not have proposals evaluated. Because the competition is the gate, the October 19 deadline closes off the entire pathway. Build your timeline backward from that date.

What do participants get beyond the money?

The non-cash value of this competition is real and is frequently underweighted by first-time applicants.

Participants receive feedback from Army and DoW evaluators at each part of the competition. The stated purpose of that feedback is to accelerate transition by giving insight into the best applications for your technology, suggestions for product improvement for Army use, and recommended next steps for development. Note that the government may not respond to follow-up questions about the feedback it provides.

Finalists have the opportunity to participate in an xTech Accelerator, which offers training, mentorship, and transition-focused support to help align technology solutions with end users and acquisition stakeholders across the Army and the broader DoW. The competition also facilitates research engagement opportunities with Army labs, including authorized access to the Army's organic intellectual and technical capital.

Separately, participation can generate interest from other Army, DoW, or U.S. Government organizations for opportunities outside this program, such as a Broad Agency Announcement submission or a separate proposal request. Finalists may be invited to submit under a contract mechanism of the Army's choosing.

How is proprietary information handled?

Submissions may be reviewed by government personnel and by authorized nongovernmental evaluators supporting the competition. Nongovernmental evaluators are subject to nondisclosure, conflict-of-interest, access-control, and use restrictions. The government will not disclose properly marked proprietary information outside the government except as authorized by law and by the participant's submission agreement. Information will not be disclosed to a foreign government or foreign person unless separately authorized and consistent with applicable export-control, security, and foreign-disclosure requirements.

The practical takeaway is to mark proprietary content properly in your white paper rather than withholding the technical substance that makes your submission competitive.

What happens in each SBIR phase?

Phase I. Open to xTech|Search 10 finalists and winners only, with a cost limit of $300,000 and a six-month period of performance. The company completes a feasibility study demonstrating its competitive technical advantage relative to other commercial products and develops concept plans for applying the technology to Army priorities. The study should identify the technology at both the component and system levels, provide supporting literature for technical feasibility, highlight existing performance data, show application opportunities to a broad customer base outside defense, present a commercial market strategy, explain how the technology addresses the Army need, and include a technology development roadmap. Phase I closes with a concept demonstration showing a high probability that continued development yields a mature Phase II product.

Phase II. The company produces prototype solutions that a Soldier can easily operate. Prototypes are provided to select Army units for Soldier evaluation. The company also delivers a technology transition and commercialization plan covering both DoW and commercial markets.

Phase III dual use. The company matures the Phase II technology to TRL 6 or 7 and produces prototypes to support further development and commercialization. The Army evaluates each product in a realistic field environment, and the company updates prototypes toward a final design configuration based on Soldier feedback. Phase III work is funded through non-SBIR sources.

How do you actually enter and win?

The path is sequential and unforgiving of missed steps. Submit a competitive concept white paper by October 19, 2026. Get selected as one of up to 50 semifinalists. Deliver a virtual pitch in January 2027 and get selected as one of up to 20 finalists. Demonstrate your solution at the finals in March 2027. Then submit a Phase I SBIR or STTR proposal as an invited finalist or winner between March 4 and April 30, 2027. There is no way to skip the competition and go straight to the SBIR or STTR proposal.

The self-assessment is straightforward. If you can achieve the competition objective better than any other company on the market, you have a strong likelihood of advancing and you should apply. Open-topic competitions reward companies that can crisply demonstrate a defensible technical edge and real commercial traction.

What does a competitive white paper need to show?

Winning white papers for open-topic competitions tend to do four things well:

• Commercial traction that is evidenced, not asserted. Revenue, customers, partnerships, pilots, or independent validation rather than a concept alone.

• A clear and defensible technical advantage over existing commercial products, stated in terms a non-specialist evaluator can grade.

• A direct line to a specific Army need. This cycle, that means naming the Warfighting Function and PIT focus area your technology serves and describing the Soldier-level gap it closes.

• A credible path to maturation and transition so the Army can see how the capability actually reaches Soldiers.

Because the topic is open, judges are comparing very different technologies against one another. Clarity, evidence, and a sharp articulation of why your solution is game-changing carry more weight than technical density. And because you get only one submission per entity, the choice of which technology and which focus area to lead with is itself a strategic decision.

Why this competition matters for deep-tech startups

xTech|Search 10 is one of the lowest-friction ways for a commercially oriented startup to enter the Army SBIR and STTR ecosystem. It does not require a prior defense relationship, it rewards existing commercial traction, and it offers a structured pathway from a single white paper to a $300,000 non-dilutive Phase I award, with up to $225,000 in cash prizes along the way for a company that advances to first place, plus accelerator access and direct engagement with Army stakeholders. For a seed to Series A company with a strong product and no in-house grants team, the competition format lets you compete on the strength of your technology and your traction rather than on your familiarity with federal proposal mechanics.

How can BW&CO help?

BW&CO provides end-to-end support across the full xTech|Search 10 pathway. That includes competition strategy and focus-area positioning, concept white paper development, virtual pitch and finals demonstration preparation, and full Phase I SBIR or STTR proposal writing for finalists and winners, along with administrative and compliance support. We help you position your commercial traction and technical advantage for open-topic judging criteria, map your technology to the right PIT focus area and Warfighting Function, and build the timeline backward from October 19 so nothing slips.

Frequently asked questions

What is Army SBIR topic ARM26BX05-NP011?

It is the Phase I Army SBIR topic tied to the xTech|Search 10 prize competition. Only finalists and winners selected from the competition are eligible to submit a Phase I proposal under this topic. Proposals from non-finalists or non-participants will not be evaluated. There is a parallel Phase I Army STTR topic, ARM26TX05-NP002, tied to the same competition.

How do I apply to xTech|Search 10?

You apply by submitting a concept white paper to the xTech|Search 10 competition through the official Army xTech portal at https://www.xtech.army.mil/competitions/. You do not apply to the SBIR or STTR topic directly.

When is the deadline?

Concept white papers are due October 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. The submission window opened September 10, 2026.

How much funding can I receive?

The competition awards up to $1,000,000 in cash prizes overall. A single company advancing to first place could receive $5,000 as a semifinalist, $20,000 as a finalist, and $200,000 as the first place winner. Finalists and winners may also submit a Phase I Army SBIR or STTR proposal worth up to $300,000.

How many companies advance at each stage?

Up to 50 semifinalists, up to 20 finalists, and up to three winners. Up to 20 selectees may submit a Phase I SBIR or STTR proposal.

Can I submit both an SBIR and an STTR proposal?

The competition provides the opportunity to submit a Phase I Army SBIR proposal under ARM26BX05-NP011 or a Phase I Army STTR proposal under ARM26TX05-NP002. STTR requires a formal partnership with a research institution, so the choice usually follows your existing research relationships. Confirm the specifics against the RFI and topic language before you commit.

Does my technology have to fit one of the PIT focus areas?

No. The competition welcomes technologies addressing any valid Army need or capability gap. However, evaluation gives strong consideration to solutions aligned with the PIT focus areas, so aligning your narrative to one of them is a practical advantage.

Who is eligible to apply?

Small, for-profit, independent U.S. businesses. The firm must meet the small business requirements in 13 C.F.R. 121.702, be more than 50 percent directly owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens or by qualifying U.S.-owned small businesses, and have no more than 500 employees including affiliates. Non-profits are not eligible.

Can I apply if I entered a previous xTech competition?

Yes. Companies that previously participated in xTech|Search competitions may apply with new technology concepts or with improvements to previously submitted proposals.

How many submissions can my company make?

Only one submission per eligible entity is permitted.

Are any technology areas excluded?

Yes. Technologies falling exclusively within the USAMRDC portfolio are excluded, which covers military infectious diseases, military operational medicine, chemical biological defense, and clinical and rehabilitative medicine.

Can I submit a Phase I proposal without entering the competition?

No. Only xTech|Search 10 finalists and winners may submit a Phase I proposal under these topics. There is no direct submission path.

Where are the finals held?

The finals demonstration event is scheduled for March 2 to March 4, 2027, at or around eMerge Americas in Miami.

OSW26TZ05-NV003: High Throughput Wafer Scale Manufacturing of Custom Achromatic Infrared Meta Optics

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

OSW26TZ05-NV003 is a 2026 OSW-Reliance 21 STTR topic under the DoW STTR Program funding a cost-effective, high-throughput, wafer-scale manufacturing process for custom achromatic meta-optic components operating in the mid wave and long wave infrared bands. Because this is an STTR topic, the small business must formally partner with a U.S. nonprofit research institution or university, performing at least 40 percent of the work while the research partner performs at least 30 percent. Phase I offers a base award of up to $300,000 over 12 months with a 10-page technical volume limit. This topic is ITAR/EAR restricted. Proposals are due September 23, 2026 and must be submitted through DSIP.

Overview

Meta-optics replace bulky, multi-element, three-dimensional curved lenses with flat surfaces built from subwavelength-scale meta-units, dramatically cutting the size, weight, and complexity of infrared systems. That makes them attractive for portable IR vision systems, UAV surveillance platforms, and wearable electronics. A single meta-optic element can also be engineered to extract or encode information like polarization, wavelength, and wavefront shape directly from an incoming IR signal, enabling sensing and beam-shaping capabilities that conventional refractive optics cannot match.

The problem holding this technology back is chromatic aberration, along with a manufacturing bottleneck. Existing fabrication approaches, including electron beam lithography, UV immersion lithography, nanoimprint lithography, grayscale lithography, and deep UV projection lithography, are slow, require complex alignment, use expensive tooling, and have limited material compatibility. Most demonstrated achromatic metalenses to date also operate in the visible or near-infrared range rather than the MWIR (3 to 5 microns) or LWIR (8 to 14 microns) bands that matter for military infrared systems.

This topic wants a wafer-scale manufacturing process, compatible with standard semiconductor fabrication infrastructure, that can produce achromatic meta-optic components in high-index, IR-transparent materials across both MWIR and LWIR bands. Phase I focuses on proving the manufacturing process works for the MWIR band specifically, building meta-unit libraries across multiple IR materials, and quantifying performance metrics like phase control resolution, surface flatness for component integration, and the breadth of the meta-atom library. Phase II experimentally validates those Phase I performance targets, expands the meta-atom library into the LWIR band, and focuses on scaling the process to high-volume wafer-scale production without requiring the proposer to own a physical foundry.

Because this is an STTR topic, proposers must have a signed Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with their partnering nonprofit research institution or university, along with an intellectual property and data rights allocation statement between both parties, uploaded as supporting documentation. This topic is also ITAR/EAR restricted, so any proposed use of foreign nationals must be disclosed in detail, including country of origin, visa type, and specific tasks.

Worth noting: the solicitation's evaluation criteria section references weighting toward a "foundation-model-based collaborative AiTR approach," which appears to be boilerplate carried over from a different topic and does not match the meta-optics manufacturing description above. Companies should confirm evaluation criteria directly with the Technical Point of Contact before finalizing a proposal strategy.

Funding and Timeline

Phase I base award: up to $300,000 Phase I period of performance: 12 months Phase I technical volume limit: 10 pages Small business minimum work share: 40 percent of total cost Research institution/university minimum work share: 30 percent of total cost Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026 Submission portal: DSIP only, no other submission method is accepted Additional funding available: TABA funding, up to $6,500 for Phase I awardees and up to $50,000 per Phase II project Critical Technology Area: Scaled Hypersonics CMMC level requirement: Level 1 Export control status: ITAR/EAR restricted

Who Should Apply

This topic fits small businesses with nanofabrication, photonics, or optical metasurface expertise, particularly those who already have or can quickly establish a research partnership with a university or nonprofit lab active in meta-optics, semiconductor processing, or advanced materials. Because STTR requires a documented Cooperative Research and Development Agreement and an IP allocation statement before submission, companies should start that conversation with a research partner early rather than after the topic is already open.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for OSW26TZ05-NV003? The proposal deadline is September 23, 2026. Proposals must be submitted through DSIP before the topic closes.

How much funding is available for Phase I? Phase I offers a base award of up to $300,000 for a 12 month period of performance.

Why does this topic require a university partner? This is an STTR topic, not an SBIR topic. STTR requires the small business to formally partner with a U.S. nonprofit research institution or university, with the small business performing at least 40 percent of the work and the research partner performing at least 30 percent, measured by cost.

What documents does the university partnership require? A signed STTR Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between the small business and the research institution, along with an Allocation of Intellectual Property and Data Rights statement between both parties, both uploaded as supporting documents.

Is this topic export controlled? Yes. This topic is restricted under ITAR and EAR. Any proposed use of foreign nationals must be disclosed, including country of origin, visa or work permit type, and specific tasks assigned, and participation may be restricted.

What infrared bands does this topic target? Mid wave infrared, 3 to 5 microns, is the primary Phase I focus, with long wave infrared, 8 to 14 microns, added during Phase II.

Does the manufacturing process need to run in a proposer-owned foundry? No. Phase II specifically aims to scale the process to high-volume wafer-scale production without requiring the proposer to own a physical foundry.

Is TABA funding available for this topic? Yes. Phase I awardees may request up to $6,500 in TABA funding, and Phase II awardees may request up to $50,000 per Phase II project.

OSW26BZ05-DV014: In-Situ Metrology for Mesa-Wall Integrity in Large Format Small-Pixel Infrared Detector Array Fabrication

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

OSW26BZ05-DV014 is a 2026 OSW-Reliance 21 SBIR topic under the DoW SBIR Program seeking a non-destructive, quick-turn metrology tool that can screen full wafers for surface damage during small-pixel infrared detector array fabrication. Phase I offers a base award of $314,363 over 9 months with a 20-page technical volume limit. A Direct to Phase II track is available at $2,095,748 over 18 months. Proposals are due September 23, 2026 and must be submitted through DSIP.

Overview

The Department of War needs large-format, small-pixel focal plane arrays (FPAs) to support sensor platforms across ground, air, maritime, and space domains. As detector manufacturers push pixel sizes smaller to meet this demand, the fabrication process becomes more fragile. During pixel isolation, mesa-wall surface damage and unwanted surface currents introduce noise that degrades FPA performance and can compromise mission effectiveness.

This topic calls for a prototype instrument that can non-destructively assess mesa-wall integrity across full wafers up to 150mm in diameter, as well as piece parts, at cryogenic temperatures. The tool needs to work across both major detector material systems used in this space: Antimony-based III-V Type-II Superlattice (T2SL) and Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT), covering short wave through long wave infrared bands. The government is prioritizing in-situ measurement approaches that let fabricators catch and correct defects during processing rather than after the fact.

Companies with backgrounds in semiconductor metrology, surface current mapping, non-destructive testing, or infrared detector characterization are well positioned here. The solicitation explicitly encourages proposers to partner with prime contractors or commercial T2SL and MCT growth and processing houses, since access to real fabrication environments will matter for a credible Phase II and Phase III transition.

Phase I is about proving the underlying physics and measurement concept, using representative test structures or coupons rather than full production wafers. Phase II scales that concept into a working full-wafer prototype validated against traditional baseline testing at an actual DoW laboratory or FPA fabrication house. Phase III targets integration into IRFPA production lines, with clear relevance to sensors for air, space, maritime, and missile platforms.

Companies pursuing the Direct to Phase II track must already have completed proof-of-concept work independent of any prior federally funded SBIR or STTR Phase I effort, and must document that work thoroughly: technical reports, test data, prototype designs, and performance results.

Funding and Timeline

Phase I base award: $314,363 Phase I period of performance: 9 months Phase I technical volume limit: 20 pages Direct to Phase II award: $2,095,748 Direct to Phase II period of performance: 18 months Direct to Phase II technical volume limit: 20 pages Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026 Submission portal: DSIP only, no other submission method is accepted Additional funding available: Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) funding, up to $6,500 for Phase I awardees and up to $50,000 per Phase II project Critical Technology Area: Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance CMMC level requirement: Level 1

Who Should Apply

This topic fits small businesses with proven capability in semiconductor surface characterization, cryogenic test instrumentation, or infrared detector fabrication diagnostics. Companies without direct access to T2SL or MCT wafer fabrication should plan to line up a partnership with a growth or processing house before proposing, since the solicitation specifically calls this out as encouraged.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for OSW26BZ05-DV014? The proposal deadline is September 23, 2026. Proposals must be submitted through DSIP before the topic closes on that date.

How much funding is available for Phase I? Phase I offers a base award of up to $314,363 for a 9 month period of performance.

Can a company skip Phase I and apply directly for Phase II? Yes. This topic accepts Direct to Phase II proposals, but only from companies that can document completed proof-of-concept work meeting the Phase I objectives, performed independently of any prior SBIR or STTR federal funding.

What materials does the metrology tool need to work with? The tool must be able to assess both Antimony-based III-V Semiconductor Type-II Superlattice (T2SL) and Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) detector materials, across short wave to long wave infrared bands.

Does this topic require a security clearance? Phase I work is expected to be performed at the Unclassified//CUI level, and classified proposals are not accepted. A Phase II contract may require facility and personnel clearances if the work becomes classified.

What size wafers does the system need to measure? The system should accommodate wafers up to 150mm in diameter as well as piece parts.

Who evaluates these proposals? Government technical evaluators may come from Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center, Army DEVCOM Army Research Lab, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Is TABA funding available for this topic? Yes. Phase I awardees may request up to $6,500 in TABA funding, and Phase II awardees may request up to $50,000 per Phase II project, using the SBIR/STTR TABA Request Form.

OSW26BZ05-NP016: Desktop Instrument for Measuring Boresight Error as a Function of Incident Angle

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

OSW26BZ05-NP016 is a 2026 OSW-Reliance 21 SBIR topic under the DoW SBIR Program funding a benchtop instrument that measures boresight error and boresight error slope in infrared window materials as a function of temperature, temperature gradient, and angle of incidence. Phase I offers a base award of $300,000 over 12 months with a 10-page technical volume limit. This topic does not have a Direct to Phase II track. Proposals are due September 23, 2026 and must be submitted through DSIP.

Overview

Interceptor vehicles use infrared tracking systems to determine an object's position along the line of sight between the vehicle and the target. That line of sight passes through a protective window or dome. In supersonic and hypersonic flight, aerodynamic heating creates a temperature gradient across that window, which distorts the measured line of sight relative to the actual line of sight. That distortion is called boresight error, or BSE. As the vehicle's angle changes, BSE changes too, in a pattern known as boresight error slope, or BSES. Negative BSES is especially problematic because it prevents the guidance system from compensating accurately.

Right now, characterizing BSE and BSES relies on wind tunnel and flight testing, which are accurate but expensive and hard to schedule. This topic seeks a desktop testing apparatus that reproduces the relevant thermal and angular conditions without high-speed air flow, so companies developing novel IR window materials, including ceramics intended to reduce BSE and BSES, can iterate faster and de-risk expensive flight testing.

The instrument needs to measure unmounted or mounted IR window materials between 25mm and 100mm wide, across an incidence angle range of 0 to 75 degrees, temperatures from room temperature up to 1200 degrees Celsius, and at three wavelengths: 633 nanometers, 4 microns, and 10 microns. It needs an integrated computer and a usable graphical interface, plus the ability to create and measure a controlled temperature gradient between the top and bottom surfaces of the sample.

This is a strong fit for companies with backgrounds in optical instrumentation, laser and detector system integration, thermal testing, or materials characterization equipment. Phase I is a design and simulation exercise, with mockups of the data collection software as the deliverable. Phase II builds and delivers a working instrument to the Army Research Laboratory, including installation, training, and documentation.

Funding and Timeline

Phase I base award: $300,000 Phase I period of performance: 12 months Phase I technical volume limit: 10 pages Direct to Phase II: not available for this topic Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026 Submission portal: DSIP only, no other submission method is accepted Additional funding available: TABA funding, up to $6,500 for Phase I awardees and up to $50,000 per Phase II project Critical Technology Area: Scaled Hypersonics CMMC level requirement: Level 1

Who Should Apply

Companies building optical test and measurement equipment, especially those with experience in laser-based sensing, cryogenic or high-temperature test rigs, or hypersonic materials testing, should take a close look at this topic. Prior experience delivering instrumentation to a government laboratory is a plus given the Phase II delivery and training requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for OSW26BZ05-NP016? The proposal deadline is September 23, 2026. Proposals must be submitted through DSIP before the topic closes.

How much funding is available for Phase I? Phase I offers a base award of up to $300,000 for a 12 month period of performance.

Is Direct to Phase II available for this topic? No. This topic is only open to standard Phase I proposals.

What temperature and angle range does the instrument need to cover? The instrument must operate from room temperature to 1200 degrees Celsius and across incidence angles from 0 to 75 degrees, at three wavelengths: 633nm, 4 microns, and 10 microns.

What is delivered at the end of Phase II? A working instrument delivered to the Army Research Laboratory, along with documentation on safe operation and standard operating procedures, ideally with troubleshooting guides and training manuals, plus on-site installation and training.

Does this topic require flight testing experience? No. The entire point of the topic is to build a benchtop alternative to wind tunnel and flight testing, so simulation and bench-level instrumentation expertise is what matters most.

Who evaluates these proposals? Government technical evaluators may come from Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center, Army DEVCOM Army Research Lab, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Is TABA funding available for this topic? Yes. Phase I awardees may request up to $6,500 in TABA funding, and Phase II awardees may request up to $50,000 per Phase II project.

OSW26BZ05-NP017: Sensing Algorithms for Bandwidth Efficient Edge Radars (SABER)

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

OSW26BZ05-NP017, known as SABER, is a 2026 OSW-Reliance 21 SBIR topic under the DoW SBIR Program funding decentralized radar sensing algorithms that let three or more radar nodes cooperate on target detection and identification while minimizing the communications bandwidth needed between them. Phase I offers a base award of $306,500 over 6 months with a 10-page technical volume limit. This topic does not have a Direct to Phase II track and is ITAR/EAR restricted. Proposals are due September 23, 2026 and must be submitted through DSIP.

Overview

The Navy's Distributed Maritime Operations concept and related tactical imaging efforts depend on networking physically separated radar nodes into a single cooperative sensing mesh. Done well, this overcomes the limits of any single platform, including single points of failure and limited angular coverage, especially in contested and cluttered environments. The catch is that this shifts the performance bottleneck from individual sensors to the communications network connecting them. Streaming raw radar data gives the best imaging fidelity but overwhelms available bandwidth, while sharing only processed features or images saves bandwidth but degrades collaborative imaging quality.

SABER is looking for architectures and algorithms that jointly optimize communications and target inference across a decentralized radar network, processing data locally at each node and transmitting only the actionable intelligence or compressed imaging features needed for the network to fuse. Proposals need to specify their level of data fusion, whether decentralized signal-level, feature-level, or decision-level, along with the expected bandwidth requirements at each level.

Phase I is modeling and simulation heavy. The government wants proposers to demonstrate architecture feasibility, identify bandwidth bottlenecks as the key technical barrier, establish quantitative baselines for both network capacity and inference accuracy, and deliver a working proof-of-concept software implementation alongside a Phase II development plan aimed at hardware-in-the-loop testing.

This is a strong fit for companies with backgrounds in radar signal processing, distributed sensor networks, communications-constrained algorithm design, or information fusion. Because this topic is ITAR/EAR restricted, any proposed use of foreign nationals must be disclosed in detail, including country of origin, visa type, and specific statement of work tasks, and foreign national participation may be restricted under U.S. export control law.

Funding and Timeline

Phase I base award: $306,500 Phase I period of performance: 6 months Phase I technical volume limit: 10 pages Direct to Phase II: not available for this topic Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026 Submission portal: DSIP only, no other submission method is accepted Additional funding available: TABA funding, up to $6,500 for Phase I awardees and up to $50,000 per Phase II project Critical Technology Area: Applied Artificial Intelligence CMMC level requirement: Level 1 Export control status: ITAR/EAR restricted

Who Should Apply

Companies working on radar signal processing, distributed sensing, communications-efficient AI, or multi-node information fusion for maritime or ground surveillance are the target audience here. Given the short 6 month Phase I period and 10 page limit, proposers should already have a strong technical foundation to build on rather than starting from a blank page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for OSW26BZ05-NP017? The proposal deadline is September 23, 2026. Proposals must be submitted through DSIP before the topic closes.

How much funding is available for Phase I? Phase I offers a base award of up to $306,500 for a 6 month period of performance.

Is Direct to Phase II available for this topic? No. This topic is only open to standard Phase I proposals.

Is this topic export controlled? Yes. SABER is restricted under ITAR and EAR. Any proposed use of foreign nationals must be disclosed, including country of origin, visa or work permit type, and the specific tasks assigned, and participation may be restricted.

How many radar nodes does the architecture need to support? The topic calls for cooperative inference across tactical networks with three or more nodes, scaling to more than two nodes for Phase II demonstration purposes.

What kind of data fusion should proposers plan for? Proposals should clearly state their fusion approach, whether decentralized signal-level, feature-level, or decision-level fusion, along with the anticipated bandwidth requirements for that approach.

What is the Phase I deliverable? A functional proof-of-concept software or algorithmic implementation, a technical feasibility assessment based on modeling and simulation results, and a Phase II development plan.

Is TABA funding available for this topic? Yes. Phase I awardees may request up to $6,500 in TABA funding, and Phase II awardees may request up to $50,000 per Phase II project.

OSW26BZ05-DV018: Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML)-Based Radar Data Compression

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

OSW26BZ05-DV018 is a 2026 OSW-Reliance 21 SBIR topic under the DoW SBIR Program funding deep learning approaches, such as autoencoders or transformer models, that compress raw radar data into low-bit representations for efficient storage and transmission without losing radar utility. Phase I offers a base award of $314,363 over 12 months with a 20-page technical volume limit. A Direct to Phase II track is available at $2,095,748 over 24 months. This topic is ITAR/EAR restricted. Proposals are due September 23, 2026 and must be submitted through DSIP.

Overview

Next-generation radars, particularly synthetic aperture radar (SAR), generate enormous data rates that traditional image compression methods were never designed to handle. This topic is looking for neural compression approaches built specifically for the complex SAR data domain, using complex-valued neural network encoders and decoders that learn to compress raw pulses or range-Doppler maps into a compact latent representation with minimal distortion, while preserving the features that matter for detection and analysis.

Phase I is about designing and training autoencoder networks for radar data, benchmarking rate-distortion performance against classical compression methods on recorded datasets, and measuring the impact on target detection performance. Phase II moves the best-performing model onto embedded hardware for real-time compression, which likely involves quantization-aware training to reduce bit depth, and tests it against live radar feeds to evaluate image and track fidelity after decompression. Phase III integrates the technology into fielded radars or data links.

The dual-use angle here is broad. Any high-rate sensor stream benefits from this kind of compression, from unmanned aerial vehicle radar feeds to high-resolution weather radar data, which gives commercially minded proposers a real path to Phase III beyond DoW customers.

This is a strong fit for companies with deep learning expertise applied to signal processing, particularly teams with experience in autoencoders, transformer architectures, or complex-valued neural networks, combined with radar or SAR domain knowledge. Because this topic touches sensitive radar signal processing, it is ITAR/EAR restricted, and any proposed use of foreign nationals must be disclosed in detail.

Companies pursuing Direct to Phase II need documented proof-of-concept work that meets the Phase I objectives, independent of prior federally funded SBIR or STTR Phase I work, along with a clear commercialization discussion.

Funding and Timeline

Phase I base award: $314,363 Phase I period of performance: 12 months Phase I technical volume limit: 20 pages Direct to Phase II award: $2,095,748 Direct to Phase II period of performance: 24 months Direct to Phase II technical volume limit: 20 pages Proposal deadline: September 23, 2026 Submission portal: DSIP only, no other submission method is accepted Additional funding available: TABA funding, up to $6,500 for Phase I awardees and up to $50,000 per Phase II project Critical Technology Areas: Applied Artificial Intelligence and Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance CMMC level requirement: Level 2 (Self) Export control status: ITAR/EAR restricted

Who Should Apply

Companies with strong applied machine learning teams, particularly those who have worked on compression, autoencoders, or generative models for scientific or sensor data, are a natural fit. Radar or SAR domain experience is a meaningful differentiator given the specificity of the technical objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for OSW26BZ05-DV018? The proposal deadline is September 23, 2026. Proposals must be submitted through DSIP before the topic closes.

How much funding is available for Phase I? Phase I offers a base award of up to $314,363 for a 12 month period of performance.

Can a company skip Phase I and apply directly for Phase II? Yes. This topic accepts Direct to Phase II proposals, but only from companies that can document completed proof-of-concept work meeting the Phase I objectives, performed independently of any prior SBIR or STTR federal funding.

What kind of AI approach is the government looking for? Deep learning based compression, specifically autoencoder or transformer architectures, ideally using complex-valued neural networks suited to SAR and radar data.

Is this topic export controlled? Yes. This topic is restricted under ITAR and EAR. Any proposed use of foreign nationals must be disclosed, including country of origin, visa or work permit type, and specific tasks assigned, and participation may be restricted.

What is the required CMMC level? CMMC Level 2 (Self) is the projected requirement for this topic.

What civilian applications does this technology have? Weather radar data networks and medical imaging streams are both cited as dual-use applications with commercial potential.

Is TABA funding available for this topic? Yes. Phase I awardees may request up to $6,500 in TABA funding, and Phase II awardees may request up to $50,000 per Phase II project.